Florida authorities arrest NC State’s ex-head trainer accused of sex abuse of Wolfpack male athletes

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in Florida have arrested N.C. State’s former director of sports medicine, who was accused of sexually abusing former Wolfpack male athletes under the guise of treatment, which previously led to more than 30 athletes outlining allegations in civil lawsuits.

Robert M. Murphy Jr. was arrested Wednesday night and was being held in the Marion County jail on out-of-state fugitive warrants from North Carolina. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office listed 23 charges of sexual battery and nine for felony sexual contact on its online database as of Thursday morning but offered no additional details.

ESPN was first to report Murphy’s arrest.

Jared Hammett and Seth Blum, two Raleigh-based attorneys who have represented Murphy in the civil lawsuits, didn’t immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The case originated with a federal civil lawsuit from a single athlete filed four years ago. That complaint alleged years of misconduct by Murphy, such as improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

The case eventually landed in state court in 2025 with 14 former Wolfpack athletes, with that number growing to 31 joining the lawsuit by February outlining similar allegations.

In June, a judge dismissed the lawsuit against Murphy and multiple N.C. State athletics officials tied to their oversight roles, citing procedural reasons such as the statute of limitations expiring in claims dating back as early as 2013. Attorneys for the players had appealed that dismissal.

All but two of those 31 athletes were “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect their identity, while two former men’s soccer players were 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 2023 and April 2023. The AP typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly about it, which Locke has done.

Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented players going back to the original case, told the AP that the number of athletes who have contacted players’ attorneys with similar allegations has grown to 35.

Attorneys for Murphy have denied any wrongdoing by their client in previous comments. That notably included Blum forcefully defending his client after the lawsuit moved to state court last fall, saying Murphy had been falsely accused and there was yet to be “one scrap of credible evidence he assaulted anyone.”

The judge’s dismissal of the civil case in June had covered claims against multiple athletics officials, such as former athletic director Debbie Yow and current AD Boo Corrigan on jurisdictional grounds. That ruling stated any complaint should go through the North Carolina Industrial Commission — a state agency that deals with workplace matters because N.C. State is a public university — rather than civil court.

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