Documents: NC State trainer initiated 'unwelcome,' 'sexual' contact - ESPN

Title IX investigators found a former North Carolina State University sports medicine director's conduct while treating a male athlete for sports injuries was «unwelcome and of a sexual nature,» «pervasive» and «sufficiently severe,» according to redacted documents obtained by ESPN.

In addition, a senior athletic department official told investigators that sports medicine director Robert Murphy's alleged behavior had raised concerns as early as 2014 or 2015, nearly eight years before NC State sought a Title IX probe, sources familiar with that investigation told ESPN.

And former men's soccer coach Kelly Findley told investigators that he reported his concerns about Murphy's behavior, including what he called grooming, to university administrators as early as 2016, the sources said.

The school launched a Title IX investigation in January 2022 after Ben Locke, a former men's soccer player, filed a report with the NC State University Police Department, according to the documents.

Locke and 30 other former student athletes have since filed a civil lawsuit against Murphy and eight others who worked as university officials when the alleged abuses occurred. They claim in the lawsuit that the school repeatedly ignored multiple warnings starting as early as 2012 about Murphy's questionable behavior.

The university announced Murphy's hiring in December 2011. He left in 2022 following the launch of the investigation.

NC State did not respond to requests for comment but previously told ESPN that «the health and safety of students and student-athletes is paramount to NC State Athletics and the university.»

Murphy's lawyer also did not respond to requests for comment, but in a March 12 court filing, he asserted that the defendant was