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The Carolina Panthers on Thursday fired an employee who made insensitive social media posts following the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Rock, a member of the team’s communications department, was the staffer fired, a source briefed on the Panthers’ decision confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Carolina Panthers helmets on the sidelines in the second quarter of their game against the Carolina Panthers at the Caesars Superdome on Jan. 2, 2022. (Chuck Cook/USA Today Sports)
Social media posts linked to Rock appeared to show him questioning why people were sad that Kirk had been shot and killed. The song “Protect Ya Neck” from the Wu-Tang Clan was also shared.
“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”
Rock was far from the first person to lose their job for mocking the assassination of Kirk.
MSNBC fired analyst Matthew Dowd for his “unacceptable” comments about Kirk in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The network previously denounced the comments Dowd made on the air.
LIVE UPDATES: CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION SPARKS MANHUNT AS SHOOTING SUSPECT REMAINS AT LARGE
“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was struck by a single bullet around 12:20 p.m. local time on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. The 31-year-old was surrounded by mostly college students as his event was getting underway.
Authorities have yet to publicly identify a suspect in the shooting. However, officials offered more details about the person they’re after in a Thursday morning news conference.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls and Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said they had obtained “good video footage” of the shooter while he was on the Utah Valley University Campus.
Investigators added that they believe the suspect to be “of college age.”
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The investigation into the assassination of Kirk was still ongoing.
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