Judge dismisses lawsuit by 31 former NC State athletes alleging abuse, misconduct by ex-head trainer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by 31 former N.C. State male athletes alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine.

In orders filed Tuesday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed claims against Robert M. Murphy Jr., as well as multiple N.C. State athletics officials tied to their oversight rules, citing procedural reasons.

The lawsuit was filed in February in state court in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete filed in 2022. That complaint alleged years of misconduct by Murphy, including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

Collins granted the motion seeking a dismissal from Murphy’s attorneys, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in claims dating back as early as 2013.

Collins also dismissed claims against multiple athletics officials such as former athletic director Debbie Yow and current AD Boo Corrigan on jurisdictional grounds. His ruling stated any complaint should go through the North Carolina Industrial Commission — a state agency that deals with workplace matters with N.C. State as a public university — rather than civil court.

Jared Hammett, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Murphy, issued a statement to The Associated Press describing his client as “someone who dedicated his life to working with athletes" while referring to a “rush to judgment” that can impact “real people's lives.”

“The truth is nothing happened but a man’s career being ruined for money,” Hammett said. “As a lawyer I am just glad that we have been able to help another person who needed support and found himself needing that defense.”

Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented players going back to the original case, said the athletes plan to appeal.

“This dismissal has nothing at all to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual abuse of these 31 former student-athletes,” Sutton said in a statement to the AP. “It was decided based only on questions of legal procedure. We plan to appeal this outcome and in coming days will be adding new claims against NCSU for men who have recently come forward.”

All but two of the 31 athletes are “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are 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.

Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in each lawsuit, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September 2025.

Murphy, at N.C. State from 2012-22, was among nine defendants originally named individually. Others were school officials accused of negligence in oversight roles, saying concerns about Murphy’s conduct reached senior levels of the athletic department but the school’s response was insufficient.

Sutton and co-counsel Robert O. Jenkins filed in April to dismiss former N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson as a defendant.

“N.C. State does not condone sexual misconduct of any kind,” the school said in a statement Tuesday evening. "The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is paramount to the university and our athletic programs.

“We agree with the court’s analysis and the decision that the law supports dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims in this case. We recognize the immense courage it takes for someone to come forward, and our hearts go out to any student or student-athlete who has been impacted by distressing experiences.”

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FILE - A "Go Pack" sign hangs on a wall as contractors continue renovations to Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh, N.C., May 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

FILE - Flags fly above at the Reynolds Coliseum on the campuse of North Carolina State University, Feb. 19, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Kara Durrette, File)

The Minnesota Wild signed center Michael McCarron to a six-year, $20 million contract on Tuesday, taking one of their impending free agents off the market after his productive arrival following a midseason trade.

“He’s become an integral part of the team. I know in the locker room he’s a very popular guy with his teammates, and most importantly the way he performed on the ice proved to us that he was somebody that we wanted to be in business with for the foreseeable future,” general manager Bill Guerin said. “Between the way his teammates feel about him, the way the coaching staff feels about him, the way I feel about him and his desire to stay here, it just made it a perfect fit.”

The 31-year-old McCarron played in 20 regular-season games for the Wild after he was acquired from the Nashville Predators for a 2028 second-round draft pick on March 3. The 6-foot-6 McCarron had his best NHL season between Nashville and Minnesota in 2025-26, setting career highs with 109 shots on goal, 205 hits and 77 blocked shots. He had two goals, two assists, 27 hits and a team-leading 14 blocked shots over 11 games for the Wild in the playoffs. He also won 54.5% of his faceoffs.

After the Wild lost stalwart center Joel Eriksson Ek to a broken foot in the series-clinching win over Dallas in the first round, McCarron's role increased while playing on the second and third lines during the second-round series loss to Colorado. Even if his long-term fit is best on the third or fourth line, McCarron showed Guerin and the Wild coaches he won't be a liability if asked to take on more responsibility.

“Size, right shot, penalty killing, his faceoffs, all those things. Mike’s just a center. That’s what he is,” Guerin said on a video conference call with reporters. “If I’ve learned one thing over the last 15 years on this side of the business, it’s that anybody can play wing.”

Drafted in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, the late-blooming McCarron made $900,000 this season on his expiring contract. The new deal through the 2031-32 season will carry an annual average value against the salary cap of $3.33 million. He'd never signed a contract longer than two years until now.

“Everything from top to bottom was right up there with the top of the league, I would say,” said McCarron, a native of Michigan who spent five-plus seasons with the Predators. “From my very first step in there to my last, it was a great experience for me, and there was no point in looking elsewhere in free agency.”

With McCarron signing in advance and Marcus Johansson having opted to return to his roots and play in the Swedish Hockey League, the Wild have two unrestricted free agents of significance remaining: forwards Nick Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko. Guerin has promised to be aggressive this summer in continuing to try to upgrade the roster in pursuit of a Stanley Cup with their core of stars — forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber — in their prime years.

“I think we’re in a great window right now, and that’s why I did want to stay," McCarron said. “With the Minnesota Wild, it gives me and my teammates a great opportunity to go chase that thing.”

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FILE - Minnesota Wild's Michael McCarron skates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, April 13, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton, File)