Inquiries conducted under Title IX concluded that the behavior of a previous North Carolina State University athletic health director, while attending to a male student-athlete for sports-related ailments, was “unsolicited and sexually charged,” “widespread,” and “adequately grave,” based on redacted records obtained by ESPN.
Furthermore, a high-ranking university athletics administrator informed inquiry officials that the purported actions of athletic health director Robert Murphy had sparked apprehension from as far back as 2014 or 2015, nearly eight years prior to NC State initiating a Title IX examination, individuals acquainted with the inquiry disclosed to ESPN.
Moreover, previous men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley stated to inquiry officials that he communicated his anxieties regarding Murphy’s conduct, comprising what he termed as predatory manipulation, to institutional authorities starting in 2016, the informants relayed.
The institution initiated an inquiry into Title IX violations in the first month of 2022, subsequent to Ben Locke, an ex-men’s soccer athlete, submitting a complaint to the NC State University Law Enforcement Agency, as indicated by the records.
Locke, alongside thirty other erstwhile student competitors, have subsequently initiated a civil legal action targeting Murphy and eight additional individuals who served as institutional administrators at the time the purported misconduct transpired. In the litigation, they assert that the institution continuously disregarded numerous cautions commencing from 2012 concerning Murphy’s dubious conduct.
The institution publicized Murphy’s appointment in the last month of 2011. His departure occurred in 2022 subsequent to the initiation of the inquiry.
NC State refrained from replying to solicitations for remarks, yet earlier communicated to ESPN that “the well-being and security of scholars and student-competitors holds supreme importance for NC State Athletics and the institution.”
Murphy’s legal counsel likewise abstained from responding to inquiries for statements; however, in a legal submission dated March 12, he contended that the accused was operating “within the bounds of his professional duties” and that the civil allegations against him fall outside the state’s prescribed period for legal action.
In 2018, North Carolina legislated a measure designating sexual interaction presented as medical treatment a serious crime. The district attorney’s office for the county encompassing NC State indicates an active penal inquiry regarding Murphy is underway.
Kerry Sutton, a legal representative for the complainants, chose not to make a statement, referencing ongoing legal proceedings.
The Equal Opportunity and Equity division at NC State carried out the half-year internal inquiry, which encompassed discussions with around twelve individuals, as per the records acquired by ESPN. The inquiry exclusively centered on Locke’s assertions and concluded, based on the greater weight of the evidence, that Murphy engaged in recurrent unsolicited intimate contact with Locke’s private parts using his uncovered hands or digits amidst remedial massage appointments.
Inquiry officials pointed out in the records that addressing ailments close to the pelvic region and private parts can “complicate the determination of whether the actions were gravely serious,” yet they determined Murphy’s behavior was sufficiently grave and widespread to amount to inappropriate sexual actions.
“Murphy’s bodily interaction with Locke’s private parts, considering the care he underwent, would not have been clinically required,” a single record indicates.
Locke, seventeen years old upon initially undergoing care from Murphy, informed inquiry officials he perceived himself as the “‘ideal victim’ for Murphy’s “mistreatment” owing to his youth and recurrent ailments, the records detail.
“Locke’s declarations illustrate his conviction that he lacked the authority to challenge Murphy’s approach to delivering the therapies, and his apprehension that his standing as a student competitor would be jeopardized should he lodge any grievance against Murphy,” a particular record notes. “Consequently, it is sensible to infer that Murphy’s actions fostered a daunting and oppressive atmosphere for Locke.”
Soon after matriculating at NC State, Locke necessitated an operation on both his lower legs and acquired care from Murphy, as per the records. On the day following Locke’s operation, he alleges Murphy transported the student competitor from his residence where he was recuperating to the athletic premises, and directed Locke to cleanse himself in the male changing area, with Murphy positioned close by, observing, asserting the oversight was essential for safety measures and injury maintenance.
Locke indicated a state of incapacitation from prescribed analgesics for discomfort control and stated his conviction that Murphy presumed that he could “evade repercussions for bathing with this adolescent who is seventeen, a first-year student, and he will remain silent.”
Furthermore, Locke alleged that Murphy “made contact with, cradled, grasped, and tapped Locke’s phallus” more than a hundred instances across a two-year span during diverse types of clinical care, which frequently entailed Locke disrobing his undergarments, as per the records.
In a discussion with inquiry officials, Murphy refuted the assertions that he “cradled or tapped” Locke’s phallus but confessed to “making contact with Locke’s private parts using the back of his hand,” as indicated in the records. The inquiry was unable to ascertain the precise frequency of the unsolicited contact.
Murphy further informed inquiry officials that he never compelled Locke to remove his undergarments, yet “it probably evolved into a practice” over a period. In addition, Murphy declared “he might have asked Locke to forgo undergarments during care…to gain superior entry to the impacted area.”
Locke informed inquiry officials that Murphy routinely asked the erstwhile competitor to disrobe from the midsection downwards, enabling Murphy to administer a pliable compression wrap around his upper leg and thigh, referred to as hip spica bandages. Locke recounted the previous Athletic Health Director would position himself “in front of Locke, with Murphy’s visage being ‘directly opposite’ Locke’s phallus” throughout the bandaging procedure, as per the records. He also disclosed instances where he was “entirely unclothed during Murphy’s care.”
Murphy informed inquiry officials that the bandage “is less effective over undergarments” and that he possessed a “strong inclination” for the dressing to be applied to unclad epidermis.
Inquiry officials consulted with additional athletic health specialists to offer insight into situations where a physical therapist might need to examine a competitor’s private parts for assessment or therapy. The records indicated “‘restricted scenarios’ where such scrutiny was imperative, for instance, a severe wound to the intimate areas.” The records additionally pointed out that no comparable severe wound appeared in Locke’s health history.
Furthermore, as per the records, Murphy watched as a squad physician conducted a prostate check on Locke to eliminate the possibility of prostatitis, an aggravation of the prostate organ. Locke informed inquiry officials he found it “somewhat peculiar that [Murphy was] seated within” the chamber near his lower extremities while Locke lay on a treatment bench as the physician carried out the prostate evaluation. Locke states he did not oppose Murphy’s attendance in the consultation area.
Locke stated he had not comprehended that Murphy’s numerous solicitations were out of the ordinary until his relocation to compete at Lipscomb University, and experienced “profound astonishment” at the contrasting circumstances once his new coaches advised him they would not approach “anywhere near the [pelvis]”
region,” a document indicated. Locke mentioned he was never instructed to take off his undergarments throughout his tenure at the institution.
Beyond establishing that Murphy’s conduct directed at Locke was “unsolicited” and “sexually charged,” the inquiry revealed the one-time athlete was probably “daunted by Murphy’s power and standing” and “apprehensive about possible consequences” such as reduced participation.
Those conducting the inquiry recognized the “disparity in authority” between Murphy, serving as the director of sports medicine, and Locke. Consequently, the institution concluded that Murphy’s conduct “fostered a daunting, menacing, or oppressive learning atmosphere.”
Per the records, Murphy took part in an initial discussion with the probe team but refused later requests for additional interviews.
NC State suspended Murphy from his duties upon initiating the inquiry and delivered a notice of proposed dismissal to Murphy in March 2022, as per correspondence examined by ESPN. Ultimately, he relinquished his position prior to the inquiry’s completion in June 2022.
The university declared it had employed Murphy in a December 2011 press statement and highlighted his achievements at prior employments that included Mercer University and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Under a year into his tenure, Findley — then the men’s soccer coach — alerted an institutional official that Murphy’s behavior was improper and “excessively intimate,” as stated in the state legal action initiated in North Carolina. The legal filing asserts that Findley notified the sports division’s management that he was convinced Murphy was “cultivating” multiple male footballers.
The institution’s awareness and the timing thereof forms the core of the ongoing civil litigation. The legal action asserts officials received warnings in 2015, 2016, and 2019, additionally contending that Findley cautioned institutional authorities about Murphy’s actions in 2012.
ESPN conversed with several ex-athletes who contend Murphy subjected them to sexual abuse or harassment. A majority of these individuals requested anonymity, using the moniker John Doe, mirroring their designation in the state legal filing. Their tenure at NC State spanned from 2013 to 2024.
The men recounted encounters akin to Locke’s, contending Murphy made contact with their private parts during the application of hip spica bandages or the execution of therapeutic bodywork. Several detailed unduly invasive substance screening procedures which demanded near undress from the collegiate sportsmen. Furthermore, numerous athletes recounted Murphy’s frequent presence within the changing rooms and wash area, a practice seldom observed among coaches and other conditioning staff.
A single ex-athlete informed ESPN that Murphy’s renown for making contact with athletes’ private areas was so commonly understood that it earned the moniker “Rob Murphy special.”
“Should anyone seek his consultation, regardless of the ailment — be it dorsal discomfort, upper limb ache, cranial throbbing, or gluteal soreness,” stated an appellant identified as John Doe 9. “The prevailing jest asserted that irrespective of the issue, he would discover an opportunity to make contact with one’s private parts.”
To date, 33 individuals have become parties to or expressed intent to participate in the legal action.