Bobby Machado #
Introduction #
Bobby Machado is a Las Vegas sports radio producer who was fired in September 2025 after a post he published on X celebrating the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk drew widespread backlash and a public demand for action from the Vegas Golden Knights, whose games air on one of his stations. His employer, Lotus Communications, confirmed that an employee had been terminated over the post but never publicly identified him; according to trade outlet The Desk, which identified him via a source speaking on background, the employee was Machado. The episode made him one of many people across American media and sports to lose a job over comments about Kirk’s killing.
Background Information #
Machado worked as a behind-the-scenes producer for two Lotus-owned sports radio stations in Las Vegas: KKGK (1340 AM, Fox Sports Las Vegas) and KWWN (1100 AM, ESPN Las Vegas). KKGK carries the local radio broadcasts of the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL franchise in Las Vegas, giving the station a high-profile sports audience. Producers in such roles typically book, prep and support on-air programming rather than appearing on the air themselves, and Machado was not an on-air personality. He was also not an employee of the Golden Knights, a point the team itself emphasized in its response to the incident.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk â a polarizing and often controversial conservative activist and podcaster â was fatally shot during a public appearance at a college in Utah. According to The Desk, Machado responded in a post on X, since deleted, in which he took issue with condolences being expressed toward Kirk and his family: “Good fâking riddance,” Machado wrote. “Iâve watched his show way too much â heâs a piece of human sât, and Iâm glad as fâk the world is without him. Fâk him all the way to hell. Goodnight!”
The post was shared hundreds of times by X users who were critical of Machado, and he was eventually linked to Lotus Communications, which placed him on leave Thursday afternoon while the broadcaster investigated, per The Desk. By Thursday evening, September 11, he was out of a job.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
The fallout quickly reached the Vegas Golden Knights, whose games are broadcast by KKGK. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the abhorrent and deplorable comments made on social media by an employee of Lotus Broadcasting regarding Charlie Kirk,” the team said in a statement. “This individual is not an employee of the Golden Knights and has never been an employee of the Golden Knights. Glorifying or excusing violence is vile, unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We have demanded that Lotus immediately address this matter.”
Lotus, for its part, publicly rebuked the post while stopping short of naming the person responsible. “The employee has been terminated, and once again we do not tolerate hate or discrimination,” a spokesperson for Lotus Communications said in a statement. “These views do not reflect Lotus Stations or our partners.” In a separate statement reported by Las Vegas Fox affiliate FOX5, the company said it was “deeply disturbed by a hateful and despicable social media post made by a now-former employee in Las Vegas” and that “The individual was terminated immediately and is no longer an employee of our company.” Neither Lotus nor the Golden Knights ever identified Machado by name; the identification to The Desk came from a source familiar with the radio station’s investigation, who agreed to speak on background and on condition of anonymity.
The firing fit into a broader wave: The Desk reported that in the days after Kirk’s shooting, companies including the Carolina Panthers and cable news outlet MSNBC cut ties with workers over remarks about Kirk, in what became one of the largest mass firing episodes tied to social media speech in recent memory.
Current Status #
As of his reported termination on September 11, 2025, Machado was no longer employed by Lotus Communications, and his X account was no longer online. He had not publicly addressed the matter as of that evening, according to The Desk. Lotus has confirmed only that a single unnamed employee was fired; no public statement from Machado or any legal action by him has been reported.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The firing ended Machado’s run producing for two Lotus sports stations and, by extension, the Golden Knights broadcasts carried on KKGK, removing him from the Las Vegas sports radio scene altogether. His case became part of the national record of post-Kirk terminations catalogued by trade and mainstream outlets â alongside MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd and a Carolina Panthers communications staffer â illustrating how quickly a single social media post from a behind-the-scenes employee could cost a career when a team partner publicly demands action. Beyond that, little is publicly known about his circumstances since the firing, which has been documented only through Lotus’ unnamed-employee statements and The Desk’s on-background sourcing.