North Carolina Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by Ex-N.C. State Athletes Alleging Abuse

A judge in North Carolina has dismissed a lawsuit submitted by 31 former male athletes from N.C. State who accused the ex-director of sports medicine of sexual abuse. The lawsuit, which accused Robert M. Murphy Jr. of misconduct during medical treatments and alleged oversight failures by athletic officials, was dismissed due to procedural reasons by Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins.

The legal action was initially filed in state court in February following a single athlete’s federal lawsuit in 2022. Allegations included that Murphy engaged in inappropriate behavior, such as improper touching and intrusive drug test supervision, dating back to 2013.

Judge Collins dismissed the lawsuit, citing expired statute of limitations and jurisdictional grounds concerning athletic officials like former athletic director Debbie Yow and current athletic director Boo Corrigan.

Kery Sutton, the representative for the former athletes, expressed intentions to appeal the decision. Sutton stated, “This dismissal has nothing at all to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual abuse of these 31 former student-athletes. It was decided based only on questions of legal procedure.” The appeal will include new claims from additional individuals who recently came forward.

Jared Hammett, representing Murphy, responded to the dismissal by describing Murphy as committed to his profession, stating, “The truth is nothing happened but a man’s career being ruined for money.” Only two athletes involved in the case opted to use their real names, one being Benjamin Locke, a Wolfpack men’s soccer player.

N.C. State University issued a statement emphasizing the paramount importance of student and athlete safety. “N.C. State does not condone sexual misconduct of any kind,” the university declared.