Panthers fire employee after social media post about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting
The Carolina Panthers have fired an employee in the team’s communications department due to an insensitive social media post about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, a source familiar with the team’s decision said Thursday.
Charlie Rock, a football communications coordinator for the Panthers, posted about Kirk’s death on his personal Instagram account Wednesday. A few hours after the 31-year-old Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University, Rock posted: “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it ...” and included a photo of Kirk. Rock also included a reference to the Wu-Tang Clan song “Protect Ya Neck” in the post.
The Panthers posted at 10:01 a.m. Thursday on X: “The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers. We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”
A source said that the team had parted ways with Rock Thursday morning. Efforts to reach Rock by phone and text message weren’t successful. Rock was an intern for the Panthers’ communications department in 2024 and had recently been promoted to a full-time job in the same department.
Rock wasn’t the only person working with or for the media to be let go by his organization in the wake of Kirk’s fatal shooting over the past 24 hours.
MSNBC fired Matthew Dowd, a political analyst, after his on-air comments about Kirk’s death drew criticism, according to a report in The New York Times. Dowd had said on-air in relation to Kirk’s shooting that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” MSNBC’s president apologized for Dowd’s remarks, calling them “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.”
In Arizona, a sportswriter named Gerald Bourguet who covered the NBA’s Phoenix Suns for PHNX Sports is also no longer with that company after remarks he made on social media about Kirk’s death.
PHNX Sports posted on X that “we have addressed this matter with the individual and made the decision to part ways.”
Meanwhile, Gaston County Schools and a Huntersville charter school both say they’re investigating social media posts from teachers after Kirk’s fatal shooting.
The Observer’s Alex Zietlow contributed to this story.
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 11:14 AM.
