RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Fourteen former N.C. State male athletes have filed a lawsuit in state court alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine, expanding a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete three years ago.The lawsuit filed Wednesday evening in Wake County Superior Court alleges years of misconduct by Robert Murphy Jr., including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.Murphy, at N.C. State from 2012-22, is among nine defendants named individually. Others are school officials accused of negligence in oversight roles.Twelve athletes are “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are named. One is Benjamin Locke, who filed the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one of two athletes who filed their own federal lawsuits in February and April 2023. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly, which Locke has done.
Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in all four lawsuits, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction — though now with 11 additional plaintiffs.
