The Carolina Panthers football team has fired a public relations employee over his comments about Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday during a campus tour stop in Utah. Videos showed Kirk was shot in the neck in front of a large crowd of college students and attendees.
Despite an outpouring of positive support after the horrific killing, many people have taken the opportunity to criticize or insult Kirk online, including a Panthers employee.
‘We do not condone violence of any kind.’
As reported by the Athletic, a communications coordinator named Charlie Rock was fired by the Panthers for his online commentary about the deceased conservative activist.
Rock apparently joined the organization as an intern in 2024 and was promoted to his now-former position.
Social media posts circulating online showed screenshots from Rock’s Instagram account (which is now inactive), on which he posted a video of Kirk at a speaking event with the caption, “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it …” referring to Kirk’s death.
Rock’s next post was the song “Protect Ya Neck” by Wu-Tang Clan, which could easily be interpreted as referring to Kirk being shot in the neck.
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The Athletic was able to confirm that the employee is no longer with the Panthers, but Rock did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
The Panthers organization, on the other hand, released a general statement on Thursday morning without naming Rock.
“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the team’s X post read. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”
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Charlie Kirk at Politicon 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon
“Pro Football Talk’s” Mike Florio shared the story and wrote, “In a civil society, we have disagreements. Those disagreements, however sharp and strong they might be, should never devolve into violence.”
Florio added, “There is no room in the American experiment for political violence. For any type of violence. Violence should be condemned in all forms, by everyone.”
The Panthers’ next game is against the Arizona Cardinals. The teams play Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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Fearless, Nfl, Carolina panthers, Hate speech, Charlie kirk, Communications, Social media, Sports
