North Carolina State University's athletics director and other high-ranking department administrators knew of allegations of inappropriate physical contact with male athletes against sports medicine director Robert M. Murphy Jr. for several years before anyone raised concerns with the school's Title IX office.
According to documents obtained by ESPN, the former NC State Title IX deputy coordinator told investigators she recalled "having a what-the-f--- moment" when she learned of a 2019 memo, which contained concerns raised by athletic department staff about Murphy's behavior. The memo had been buried in a folder for three years while he remained on the job.
"Frankly, it pisses me off. I'm trying really hard to hide my anger right now," coordinator Michelle Lee told investigators in 2022. "It's really upsetting that we have this kind of information in this document, and we've done nothing with it."
As reported by ESPN's Xuan Thai, Lee's account appears in more than 1,000 pages of confidential documents that were part of a 2022 Title IX investigation reviewed by ESPN showing that senior sports officials at NC State received repeated warnings as early as 2014 or 2015 about Murphy's behavior yet failed to raise red flags with Title IX officials, as they were required to do.
Murphy resigned in spring 2022, before the Title IX investigation concluded, ending a 10-year stint with the Wolfpack.
"The allegations included that Murphy touched male athletes' genitals inappropriately during treatments, observed male athletes in the locker room and shower, engaged in behavior one coach described as 'grooming,' and had boundary-crossing relationships with student-athletes," Thai wrote Thursday.
Some of the allegations were included in a 32-count criminal indictment filed in September against Murphy for alleged sexual abuse of 14 athletes. Murphy, through his attorneys, has denied the charges. "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," Murphy's attorneys said in a Sept. 24 statement.
"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," NC State said in a statement. "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. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment further at this time."
In the 2022 Title IX report, investigators concluded that Murphy's conduct while treating a student-athlete was "unwelcome and of a sexual nature," "pervasive" and "sufficiently severe," ESPN's Thai reported.
"The 2019 memo was written by Murphy's manager at the time, senior associate athletic director Raymond Harrison, and addressed to outgoing athletic director Debbie Yow," Thai wrote. "Harrison raised concerns that Murphy was observed using questionable massage techniques, inviting male athletes to have their hair cut in his home and 'virtually straddling a student athlete,' which he later downplayed to investigators saying he had seen other trainers use similar techniques.
"Harrison also reported a comment Murphy made about 'seeing an athlete naked in the team's locker room.' Harrison called Murphy's comment 'not appropriate' and wrote that 'it should not be common practice for staff to be in the team locker rooms while [student-athletes] are getting dressed.' "
Per Thai, Harrison later told investigators that he spoke to Murphy about his "massage techniques and different things and to make sure that if someone from the outside is looking in, that they're comfortable with what they see in your training room."
Making failure to report these concerns all the more infuriating for Lee was the fact that her office had "preached" about reporting protocols in the wake of Penn State's Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011.
But NC State's failures began soon after, according to Thai. Michael Lipitz, who was the school's deputy athletics director, said he received information about "a comment made about a men's soccer player [who] maybe felt uncomfortable with a treatment that Rob had conducted," sometime in 2014 or 2015, according to the documents.
"My recollection is there wasn't any substance to it," Lipitz stated. "There wasn't any, I guess, proof."
Lipitz also stated that he trusted Murphy's medical judgment and described him as a "by-the-book detail person" who is "really good at what he does."
A North Carolina grand jury indicted Murphy in September on charges of sexual abuse. The charges include nine felony counts of sexual contact under the pretext of medical treatment and 23 misdemeanor counts of sexual battery against 14 former athletes.
Related: Former NC State Athletic Trainer Listed as Fugitive, Arrested in Florida Over Athlete Abuse
Murphy is in jail awaiting trial.
