N.C. State trainer arrested is the headline development after Florida authorities took former Wolfpack director of sports medicine Robert M. Murphy Jr. into custody on out-of-state fugitive warrants from North Carolina. He was being held Thursday in the Marion County jail following a Wake County grand jury indictment on Sept. 14 that charged him with nine felony counts of sexual contact under the pretext of medical treatment and 23 misdemeanor counts of sexual battery.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said the case involves 14 victims interviewed during a multiyear investigation. In a statement, she called the indictment an important step toward seeking justice and praised law enforcement and the victims for coming forward.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office listed the 32 charges, including sexual battery and felony sexual contact, and provided no additional details in its online database. The arrest was first reported by ESPN.
N.C. State trainer arrested as allegations move to criminal court
The matter began with a federal civil complaint filed four years ago by one athlete alleging misconduct by Murphy, including improper genital touching during massages and intrusive observation during drug testing. The litigation later shifted to state court in 2025, initially with 14 former athletes, and grew to 31 by late January.
A judge dismissed that lawsuit in June for procedural reasons, and the players’ attorneys have appealed. One of the key questions on appeal involves how courts apply doctrines such as evolving standards of decency when reviewing institutional responses to alleged abuse.
Indictments unsealed Thursday describe 32 charges involving 14 accusers and alleged conduct from October 2016 through fall 2021. In some instances, Murphy faces as many as six charges, including two felonies, tied to a single accuser.
Another accuser is connected to four charges, including two felonies. According to claims raised in the civil suits, former athletic director Debbie Yow and other university officials were aware of concerns about Murphy’s conduct but did not investigate or prevent him from treating male athletes.
The filings assert that athletes across campus knew of his alleged actions and some declined treatment. Raleigh attorneys Jared Hammett and Seth Blum, who have represented Murphy in civil litigation, denied wrongdoing on his behalf and reiterated that position in response to the criminal case.
They pointed to N.C. State’s 2022 statement that campus police investigated and filed no criminal charges at that time. They said they believe Murphy will be cleared when the facts are heard.
Durham attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented players since the original filing, said the number of athletes who have contacted lawyers with similar allegations has reached 35. She called the criminal charges a major development and thanked prosecutors and law enforcement in North Carolina and Florida.
Civil lawsuits navigate complex legal routes
In the state case with 31 plaintiffs, all but two athletes were identified as John Does. The two named plaintiffs are former men’s soccer players.
One, Benjamin Locke, filed the original complaint in August 2022 with allegations dating to August 2015. Locke has spoken publicly about his case and has criticized the way North Carolina State University handled earlier complaints.
Locke’s lawsuit states that former men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley alerted a senior athletic department official in 2016 that Murphy’s conduct was consistent with grooming behavior and requested that he be removed from the team’s training role. Murphy was reassigned in 2013 but resumed working with the men’s soccer team in 2014, according to filings.
Another athlete filed a separate federal suit in April 2023 after a similar February filing by a different player. One of those federal cases was dismissed by a district court and later revived in January 2025 by a federal appeals court.
The state lawsuit named Murphy, who worked at N.C. State from 2012 to 2022, among nine individual defendants, including university officials accused of negligent oversight such as Yow and current athletic director Boo Corrigan. The judge’s June dismissal cited reasons including statutes of limitations for claims as early as 2013 and jurisdictional issues, directing that workplace-related complaints against a public university should be brought to the North Carolina Industrial Commission rather than civil court.
N.C. State said it is aware of the charges against Murphy. The university stated that sexual misconduct is unacceptable and emphasized the health and safety of students and student-athletes.
It said it will cooperate with law enforcement and declined further comment due to the ongoing legal process. Officials in Marion County have also indicated they will coordinate with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office as extradition proceedings move forward.
