The horrific assassination of outspoken conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sent shockwaves around the nation and turned up the temperature on an already heated nationwide political discourse. And the sports world was not immune with the Carolina Panthers reportedly firing a staffer over a controversial social media post.
On Thursday, the team posted a message on social media saying the views expressed by their employees did not represent the organization and they addressed an incident with an individual from the team.
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.
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 11, 2025
That employee is evidently communications staffer Charlie Rock, who shared an Instagram post in the hours after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk saying “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it.” The post referenced 2023 comments from Kirk where he said, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
The post quickly went viral on social media with many individuals calling on the Panthers to respond to a member of their communications department sharing the un-empathetic sentiment.
Hey @Panthers I hear this one of your employees in the Comms Department celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Is this consistent with your organization’s values and policies? pic.twitter.com/sjjjmDTv4a
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) September 11, 2025
Both the Instagram and X accounts of Charlie Rock are now set to private. And although no discipline was announced by the Carolina Panthers and no staff member was identified, a report quickly emerged from Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler that Rock had been fired by the team.
BREAKING: The Carolina Panthers have fired Charlie Rock, of the team’s communications department, for an insensitive post regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk, a source familiar with the organization’s decision tells me. Story to come.
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) September 11, 2025
According to his LinkedIn profile, Rock had recently been promoted this summer to serve as the Panthers’ Football Communications Coordinator from being an intern with the organization.
Kirk was tragically killed by gunshot while speaking outdoors at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The 31-year-old activist had centered much of his political career on speaking to crowds at universities and engaging in debate. He leaves behind a wife and two children. At this point, no gunman has been captured or identified.
About Matt Yoder