AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Earlier this month, a judge dismissed one of the lawsuits involving 31 former scholarship athletes who allege that a former head trainer in North Carolina State University\u2019s athletic department sexually harassed and abused male students for years.<\/p>\n Read more Mysteries uncovered during renovation of \u2018layered\u2019 1925 building, NC county says<\/a><\/p>\n The attorney for Robert Murphy, a former N.C. State director of Sports Medicine, described it as justice for someone whose life had been ruined by untrue allegations.<\/p>\n N.C. State officials said they agreed with the judge\u2019s decision but don\u2019t \u201ccondone sexual misconduct of any kind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe health and safety of our students and student-athletes is paramount to the university and our athletic programs,\u201d an N.C. State statement said after the dismissal.<\/p>\n For Ben Locke, the first athlete to publicly accuse Murphy of sexual abuse, the ruling was another example of powerful institutions resisting accountability. Since Locke filed the first federal lawsuit in 2022,<\/a> 30 additional former scholarship athletes have joined the litigation.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely disappointed because they\u2019re doing everything they can to not take responsibility and take accountability,\u201d he said in an interview with The News & Observer.<\/p>\n The contrasting responses underscore how little public agreement exists<\/a> about what happened inside N.C. State\u2019s athletic department while it employed Murphy as a top trainer from 2012 to 2022.<\/p>\n The central allegations \u2014 that Murphy used<\/a> his job to sexually abuse and harass young scholarship athletes during drug tests and treatments \u2014 have yet to be decided. And if he did, whether administrators knew about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s discouraging and disappointing, but not defeating,\u201d Locke said about the dismissal. \u201cIt only kind of adds fuel to the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins<\/a> dismissed claims against current and former N.C. State administrators after concluding last month that the allegations belonged not in Wake court but before the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He dismissed claims against Murphy after finding the lawsuit had been filed outside the three-year statute of limitations.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs plan to appeal. A separate lawsuit against N.C. State remains pending before the North Carolina Industrial Commission,<\/a> which hears negligence claims against state employees and entities. That process has been paused while the Wake civil case moves through the legal system.<\/p>\n Locke, the first person to come forward, started playing at N.C. State in 2015 at age 17. As Locke struggled with groin pain over 14 months, Murphy treated Locke with massage treatments that required him to remove his underwear and involved Murphy touching Locke\u2019s private parts for no medical reason, the most recent lawsuits state.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 14-month delay in diagnosing Locke\u2019s sports hernia while Murphy sexually abused and harassed Locke under the guise of \u2018treating\u2019 his groin pain with massage therapy needlessly kept Locke from playing in any games for two seasons, extended Locke\u2019s physical pain, exacerbated Locke\u2019s muscle damage, and unnecessarily increased the complexity of his surgery,\u201d the most recent lawsuit states.<\/p>\n Seventeen others allege Murphy touched their genitals during athletic treatments, even when treating unrelated injuries.<\/p>\n Twenty-five of the plaintiffs allege Murphy required them to fully expose themselves while providing urine samples for drug tests, allowing him to closely observe their genitals, according to court filings. About a dozen allege both.<\/p>\n No criminal charges have been filed, but Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman<\/a> has said a criminal investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n Murphy has denied all wrongdoing through his attorney, Jared Hammett. Hammett said the judge\u2019s dismissal represents justice for a man whose career and reputation have been destroyed by false allegations and a rush to judgment.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine being in the position of being accused of something that sounds so heinous and having no way of truly defending yourself because no one wants to listen to the \u2018abuser,\u2019\u201d Hammett wrote in response to questions submitted by The N&O.<\/p>\n Locke\u2019s allegations are not credible, Hammett said. Locke and Murphy were friends for years after Locke transferred to another school in 2017. Locke sent Murphy \u201cmessages of thanks and friendship,\u201d Hammett said.<\/p>\n The number of men who came forward doesn\u2019t validate the allegations, Hammett argued. He said the lawsuit characterizes standard NCAA testing protocols of watching athletes during drug tests as abusive.<\/p>\n Read more Despite opting out, NC will still be represented at \u2018State Fair\u2019 festivities<\/a><\/p>\n Attorneys \u201care essentially telling people, \u2018you were abused and there is money available to you if you sign here,\u2019\u201c Hammett wrote.<\/p>\n Locke said the case goes beyond Murphy and money.<\/p>\n Locke left high school a semester early to join the Wolfpack soccer team. He and the others were teenagers and young adults who depended on the university to keep them safe. The lawsuits allege that coaches and others expressed concern about Murphy\u2019s behavior, while administrators have argued in court that the reports didn\u2019t rise to a high enough level or reach the right people.<\/p>\n Locke transferred to Lipscomb University in 2017, where trainers never asked him to remove his shorts and used tools to avoid touching his genitals during treatments, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about speaking out about things that took place and trying to seek justice, trying to seek change, so that it doesn\u2019t happen to the next guy, it doesn\u2019t happen to the next girl, it doesn\u2019t happen to the generations that are coming behind us,\u201d Locke said.<\/p>\n Locke first came forward in 2022 after discussing his experiences with a therapist, he has previously told The N&O.<\/p>\n