Wake Forest athletic trainer fired after social media comment about Charlie Kirk
Oct. 6, 2025 editor’s note: Bridget Sullivan filed a lawsuit against Rep. Pat Harrigan saying she was not fired but that she and Wake Forest University “mutually agreed that it would be best to part ways.” Read The Charlotte Observer’s coverage here.
A Wake Forest athletic trainer has been fired after celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Bridget Sullivan, a former assistant with the women’s soccer team, posted an Instagram story on her account showing lyrics “he had it coming, he had it coming” followed by text: “This audio is all I have to say about that.”
That screenshot, amplified by @LibsofTikTok and its 4.4 million X followers, has more than 670,000 views since late Tuesday afternoon.
The university issued the following statement: “Bridget Sullivan is no longer at Wake Forest University. As a matter of policy, Wake Forest does not comment on personnel or employment matters.”
Rep. Pat Harrigan — of North Carolina’s 10th congressional district, which includes Iredell County — announced on X at 2:01 p.m. Tuesday that he’d contacted the university in Winston-Salem, and updated after roughly two hours that Sullivan had been fired.
“I’m happy to report that after I contacted @WakeForest, Bridget has been FIRED for celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” the congressman wrote in an X post at 4:21 p.m. Thursday. “Even better, the university is giving full support to students launching a (Turning Point USA) chapter.”
Sullivan’s bio has been removed from the Demon Deacons’ website, but search results show she’s a Nashville, Tenn., native and worked at Wake Forest since fall 2020. Sullivan earned two degrees from High Point University, graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in exercise science and a Master’s in athletic training from the institution in 2019.
Wake Forest women’s soccer made its first national championship appearance in program history last season.
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Wake Forest athletic trainer fired after social media comment about Charlie Kirk."
