Top athletics officials at North Carolina State University, including the athletic director, knew of allegations that sports medicine director Robert M. Murphy Jr. had inappropriate physical contact with male athletes for several years before anyone raised concerns with the school's Title IX office, according to documents obtained by ESPN.
Among the records is a memo written in 2019 that contained concerns raised by athletic department staff about Murphy's behavior. According to the documents, the memo sat in a folder for three years while Murphy remained on the job. It was not until 2022 that the allegations were reported to NC State University Police and the Title IX office, the office responsible for handling sexual misconduct complaints.
The school's former Title IX deputy coordinator told investigators she was stunned when she learned the memo existed, describing her reaction with an expletive as she recounted discovering that staff concerns about Murphy had gone unaddressed for years.
The allegations against Murphy included claims that he inappropriately touched male athletes' genitals during treatments, observed male athletes in the locker room and the shower, engaged in behavior that one coach described as "grooming," and maintained relationships with student-athletes that crossed boundaries.
Some of the allegations were included in a 32-count criminal indictment filed in September that accuses Murphy of sexually abusing 14 athletes. Murphy, through his attorneys, has denied the charges.
NC State addressed the reporting in a statement, saying, "Sexual misconduct of any kind is unacceptable..As soon as the allegations were reported to NC State University Police and the Title IX office in 2022, the university took prompt action.."
The university added, "We can state clearly that Robert Murphy is no longer employed at NC State, and has not worked at NC State since the university learned of the allegations and took action." Citing an ongoing legal matter, the school said it could not comment further.
Murphy's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. In a Sept. 24 statement, they said: "We, as always, believe that when people hear the actual facts of what occurred, Mr. Murphy will be cleared and the truth will be paramount."
