Panthers fire PR employee for social media post about Charlie Kirk shooting

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6619692/2025/09/11/panthers-employee-fired-charlie-kirk-post/

Panthers fire PR employee for social media post about Charlie Kirk shooting
By Joseph Person
Sept. 11, 2025 10:03 am CDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers have fired a public relations employee for a social media post he made about the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Charlie Rock, who joined the team as a PR intern last year before being promoted to football communications coordinator, posted a video on his personal Instagram account that showed a Kirk speaking engagement with the caption, “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it …,” along with a screenshot of the Wu-Tang Clan song, “Protect Ya Neck.”

A source briefed on the situation said Thursday that Rock is no longer with the organization.

The Panthers released a statement on X addressing Rock’s actions.

“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the statement said. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”

Rock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[EdmondDantes_]

1. Not a smart thing to do especially in that job and new at it

Hopefully he learns from it, but honestly staying in PR with that on his record might be hard.

[Torchlight]

2. Expressing the conviction held by the deceased seems uncontroversial to me. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Not The Best Move

He was in PR. He should know better.
I don't care about Kirk; he was evil & reaped the whirlwind he energized.
But, a PR person should know not to opine on things the company might find objectionable.

[highplainsdem]

6. RWers are targeting people whose social media posts express approval for Kirk having been killed.

The problem for people who know how despicable Kirk's views were - as we all do here - is that most people DON'T know, and so posting anything that appears to approve of Kirk's death is likely to look very bad outside a liberal space.

An assistant dean at a university in Tennessee was immediately fired yesterday when the school was notified that she'd posted that "hate begets hate" and she had "zero sympathy" for Kirk being killed.

A comic book artist - a trans artist whose new comic from DC was just being launched - lost that contract because of what she posted about Kirk, and her Bluesky account was suspended: https://www.thewrap.com/dc-comics-cancels-red-hood-writer-charlie-kirk-death/

Here at DU most of us are anonymous, but I saw posts on Twitter demanding DU, Daily Kos and Reddit be investigated, and one Twitter user posting about DU is a writer for Fox News.

I don't want posts here putting DU and our admins at risk. I don't want posts suggesting a site that should condemn ALL political violence thinks it's okay if Charlie Kirk was killed to become the image of DU a wider audience is given. I don't think it looks good for DU if Obama is trashed for condemning political violence.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. While I Don't Approve Of That...

...I still think a PR person should have understood public relations.
I can say what I want about Kirk. I don't report to anybody.
This guy was a direct report to someone in management. He knew what he had to lose.
Maybe he already had another job lined up & didn't care if he got the ax.

[highplainsdem]

8. That Libs of TikTok account on Twitter was targeting a lot of teachers and government and medical workers when I

looked at it last night, notifying their emp!oyers, trying to get them fired. A new website has been set up to collect info to try to get people fired, and some of those people are also getting rape and death threats: https://www.wired.com/story/right-wing-activists-are-targeting-people-for-allegedly-celebrating-charlie-kirks-death/

And while you can say what you want about Kirk in terms of not reporting to anybody, everything you post here that isn't removed is likely to be viewed by outsiders as acceptable at DU. And it will hurt DU if it becomes viewed as sympathetic to political violence against RWers, or at least RW extremists.

[Union Label]

11. A couple of teachers I know in Californias central vally

are worried about what they posted because some city council rethug is demanding that their teaching certificates be pulled over this shit.

[highplainsdem]

12. People who have despised Kirk need to understand that criticizing what he's said does NOT come

across the same way after he's been murdered. Especially immediately after. Especially if they suggested they're fine with him having been killed.

The Democratic leaders who made it clear they condemned him being murdered, even as much as they disagreed with him, were doing the right thing. The ethical thing. The politically wise thing.

I've been surprised and disgusted by how many Democrats seem to want grave-dancing from them instead.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. We'll See

I'm not as sure about that effect as you.

[highplainsdem]

14. Fine. But I don't believe in taking a "We'll see" attitude when posts here could put EarlG at risk. And

I don't want this site shut down, either.

It didn't seem too much to ask to hope DUers wouldn't celebrate or even give tacit approval to political violence against our opponents.

[Sogo]

4. "We do not condone violence of any kind."

Uh, you're a f-ing football team!!!!

[BootinUp]

5. Was he high or just wanted attention? Nt

[TheProle]

10. He apparently wanted in on some of that FAFO everyone loves to talk about.

[Jacson6]

9. When a person dies if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all.

My mom told me this 45 years ago.