As of Monday, 19 former campus athletes who played four different sports have joined lawsuits accusing a former N.C. State head trainer of sexual harassment and abuse. The men also accuse campus officials and the university itself of failing to protect them.
Ben Locke, a former Wolfpack soccer player, was the first to publicly make this accusation by filing a lawsuit in 2022. Three years later, he says he feels validated but saddened, knowing the reckoning other former student athletes must face as they step forward.
“I knew how long it took me to even accept and to admit that this thing happens, not to mention the implications of sharing it with my family, the implications of people coming to me and saying, ‘Hey, I heard this thing happened to you,’ and working through it in therapy,” said Locke.
Locke’s original lawsuit, since withdrawn, was filed in federal court and accused Robert Murphy, a former director of sports medicine who also did hands-on training, of sexual abuse and harassment. Murphy worked at state from 2012 to 2022.
Just last week, Locke and 13 other men filed two new lawsuits in state courts, accusing N.C. State and some of its leaders of recruiting scholarship players and then leaving them vulnerable to abuse.
Quickly, the number of plaintiffs has grown to 19, according to Kerry Sutton, one of the men’s attorneys. But unlike Locke, most are anonymous in court filings.
Locke, in an interview, said he knew a couple of the men who joined the lawsuit early on but hasn’t had the opportunity to speak to most of the others, many of whom he doesn’t know their names.
But he feels a bond.
“What I believe we’re doing, is to expose darkness with light. And so that is my motive. That was my motive on day one, and that continues to be my motivation,” said Locke, who now lives in Tennessee.
About Ben Locke
Locke started playing soccer when he was about 4. As he grew up, his entire life began to revolve around the game. He graduated from high school a semester early to enroll at N.C. State’s campus in January 2015 as a 17-year-old.
After sustaining shin and groin injuries, Locke became reliant on Murphy, who delayed Locke’s recovery by prescribing inappropriate treatments, the lawsuits contend.
Locke estimates that Murphy touched his genitals dozens of times from August 2015 to May 2017 during massages and treatments, the lawsuits state.
Murphy also arranged for Locke to have a medically unnecessary prostate exam, which Murphy watched, the lawsuits state.
In the spring of 2017, Locke transferred to Lipscomb University, a private university in Nashville where he played men’s soccer for three seasons.
He immediately noticed trainers didn’t require him to take his underwear off and used tools instead of their hands when they needed to treat areas near Locke’s genitals, his initial lawsuit stated.
Locke remained there until 2020, completing a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration. Following graduation, Locke worked in entrepreneurial ventures, including co-founding a social impact startup, according to his LinkedIn profile.
At the end of 2021, Locke shared his concerns about Murphy with a therapist, who told Locke that he was required to report abuse of a minor if Locke did not.
Former athlete seeks accountability
Locke contacted the Raleigh Police Department in January 2022 to report Murphy “had sexually assaulted” him while he was an N.C. State student, the lawsuits state.
The complaint did not prompt criminal charges but it resulted in a campus Title IX investigation of a harassment allegation that cost Murphy his job and his license with the Board of Athletic Trainer Examiners, according to the lawsuits.
But Locke didn’t know that right away, he told The News & Observer. Initially, an N.C. State official told him that Murphy’s leaving his job had nothing to do with Locke’s complaint, Locke told The News & Observer previously.
Locke was also told that because Murphy resigned before the investigations had been concluded, it wouldn’t be included in Murphy’s record, according to Locke’s first lawsuit.
Locke described all he knew of the university’s response as “completely and utterly unjust,” and dangerous in 2022, saying he decided to file a lawsuit to hold officials accountable.
By that time he had turned to journaling to help him deal with the alleged abuse, as well as chronic pain that followed being in a car accident in 2019.
The journaling evolved into his first book, “In Our Suffering, Lord Be Near, Prayers of Hope for Hurting,” published by HarperCollins Publishing last year.
New lawsuits with more plaintiffs
In a flurry of legal moves last week, Locke and the other plaintiffs moved the already three-year civil legal battle from federal to state court.
One lawsuit was filed in Wake County court, accusing top athletic officials, including former athletic director Debbie Yow, of recruiting young athletes and requiring them to seek help with their injuries from Murphy amid concerns about his work and relationships with students.
Next, the men filed a claim against N.C. State with the North Carolina Industrial Commission, which hears allegations of negligence by state employees or agencies. The lawsuit contends the university itself was negligent in not protecting the former players from Murphy.
An N.C. State spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Murphy’s attorney Seth Blum said his client “did not do this” but is “an early victim in the new frontier of mass torts: suing universities for spurious allegations of sexual assault.”
Despite the long journey, Locke said he doesn’t regret coming forward.
“I knew that there were potentially other guys out there that experienced worse things than me, or things similar to what I went through,” he said. “I think there will be more to come.”
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
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