Who is Charlie Rock? All about Panthers PR employee fired over Charlie Kirk post with Wu-Tang Clan song reference

Charlie Rock, an employee of the NFL team, the Carolina Panthers, was fired over his viral post on conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder. Rock was a football communications coordinator for the Panthers, according to the Charlotte Observer.

On September 10, Charlie Kirk, 31, was attending a Turning Point USA event titled “The American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was fatally shot in the neck by a sniper while speaking on gun violence on stage.

A few hours later, Charlie Rock took to his Instagram Stories and shared an old clip of Charlie Kirk, with the caption:

“Why are y’all sad? Your man said it was worth it.”

The Panthers PR staff member was referring to Kirk’s speech at a TPUSA event in Salt Lake City, Utah, in April 2023, where he was quoted as saying:

“It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.”

Charlie Rock shared the 1992 song Protect Ya Neck by hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan on his follow-up IG Story. It was seemingly a dig at the way Kirk was killed.

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All you need to know about Charlie Rock amid his Charlie Kirk remarks

According to The Times Union, Charlie Rock was the football communications coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. He originally joined the team’s public relations and communications department as an intern in 2024, before being promoted to a full-time role.

Rock attended the University of Albany and graduated in 2022. In college, he served as the manager for the Great Danes men’s basketball team. He is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

On September 11, an insider source told the local media outlet Charlotte Observer that Charlie Rock was no longer employed by the Carolina Panthers.

Meanwhile, the Panthers took to X and apologized for their former staffer’s remarks on the official account.

“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,” the NFL team wrote in a statement.

Charlie Rock himself hasn’t responded to the firing or online backlash yet.

Notably, Rock wasn’t the only individual fired by his employer in the wake of their comments about Charlie Kirk. Political analyst and consultant Matthew Dowd was also let go by MSNBC after his on-air comments about Kirk’s murder went viral and sparked online backlash.

MSNBC host Katy Tur asked Matthew about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” The 64-year-old responded by commenting on Kirk:

“He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”

Dowd continued, “And I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sorts of awful thoughts you have and then say these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”

Matthew later took to BlueSky and issued an apology for his “tone and words” and clarified that he “in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack.” The ex-ABE News political pundit added, “Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.”

Regardless, MSNBC terminated him and posted on their Public Relations account on X:

“We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”

The statement from President Rebecca Kutler also described Dowd’s comments as “inappropriate, insensitive, and unacceptable.”

According to the Charlotte Observer, Arizona-based sportswriter Gerald Bourguet was also dismissed following his social media comments on Charlie Kirk’s murder. Bourguet, who covered the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, had been writing for the PHNX Sports column.

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Charlie Kirk’s shooter continues to remain at large, and a nationwide manhunt is ongoing. He is survived by his wife Erika and their two children.