A former athletic trainer at North Carolina State University is at the centre of a growing controversy after multiple former student-athletes accused him of sexual abuse.
According to a report by ESPN, the allegations target Robert Murphy. Murphy worked with NC State’s athletic programs for years and is now accused by several former athletes of inappropriate conduct during medical treatment.
The alleged misconduct involved inappropriately stroking their genitalia and putting the players through unconventional drug testing methods, where Murphy made them almost completely nude while he watched.
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5 things to know about Robert Murphy
1. The sexual abuse started in 2013. According to the lawsuit, one of Murphy’s initial alleged victims is JOHN DOE 1, who transferred to NC State in 2013.
He claimed that his years of training as a professional athlete had taught him to ignore the pain and carry on. He claims that Murphy started sexually abusing him during the player’s initial weeks on the squad.
2. Eleven men have come out and spoken to the media against Robert Murphy so far. Eleven men, the majority of whom talked on condition of anonymity, detailed their experiences with Murphy while playing for different NC State teams between 2013 and 2024 to ESPN. Nine of these guys are involved in an ongoing legal lawsuit against the institution, according to ESPN.
Before former soccer player Ben Locke’s complaint to campus police resulted in a Title IX investigation in 2022 and a lawsuit that has now been joined by 30 other former players, the men said they avoided discussing what happened to them, per ESPN.
3. Murphy left the university in 2022. According to sources who spoke with ESPN, university administrators were aware of the accusations against Murphy as early as 2014, but they did not take any action in response to staff members’ concerns.
However, Locke’s complaint triggered a state criminal investigation against Murphy. The case led Murphy to leave NC State University in 2022. The case is still ongoing.
John Doe 1 said, “They knew. They knew everything.”
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4. Murphy would enter the locker room and showers. According to ESPN, Murphy told Title IX investigators that as a coach, he would frequently visit the locker room and showers to tell the athletes to come see him for treatment.
However, the former players told ESPN that other coaches and trainers hardly ever went inside the showers or locker room. John Doe 27 said, “Rob would maybe strike up conversations or would do a little more lingering than anyone else really would while people were showering.”
5. No criminal conviction reported against Murphy. The allegations are part of a civil lawsuit, and there has been no indication as per current reports of any criminal charges or conviction in the case.
