Overview

• The suit was filed Wednesday in Wake County Superior Court, naming nine defendants including former director of sports medicine Robert Murphy Jr. and several athletics officials.
• Plaintiffs allege improper genital touching during massages and intrusive observation during urine drug testing while Murphy worked at N.C. State from 2012 to 2022.
• Twelve plaintiffs are proceeding as John Does, while two former men’s soccer players are named, including original 2022 complainant Benjamin Locke.
• Attorney Kerry Sutton says the group aims to encourage other athletes to come forward and describes a culture of fear within the athletics department.
• Court records show Murphy’s defense is seeking dismissal on sovereign-immunity and other grounds, plaintiffs have moved the case from federal to state court and trimmed some earlier defendants, and N.C. State declined comment.