Florida Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu was suspended by the NHL after making “unacceptable and inappropriate” comments on social media, the league announced Tuesday.
The incident occurred following the Panthers’ 2-0 win in Game 4 vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. Following the victory, Cifu engaged in a back-and-forth with a fan that included profanity, taunting and comments about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The latter issue was brought up by the fan due to Cifu’s support of Israel on his X account. Cifu also had five Israeli flag emojis in his bio. His X account was set to private and then deleted shortly after the back-and-forth.
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After multiple tweets with the fan, Cifu eventually responded, “Eat s*** 51st state anti-semite loser. Israel now and forever. Until ever [sic] last Hamas rat is eliminated.”
The NHL did not specify a particular tweet in its announcement, merely stating Cifu was suspended for “unacceptable and inappropriate” posts.
Cifu will need to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before being reinstated from the suspension, per the league statement.
“The NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifu’s X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate,” the league said in a statement. “As a result, Mr. Cifu has been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Club and the NHL. An in-person meeting will be scheduled with Mr. Cifu and the Commissioner at a date to be determined.”
Cifu apologized for those comments in a statement to Florida Hockey Now. In the statement, Cifu said he made “regrettable and inflammatory comments.”
“Two days ago, I posted regrettable and inflammatory comments on social media,’’ Cifu wrote in a statement. “My behavior does not reflect the standards of the Florida Panthers organization and the Viola family. I sincerely apologize to all those affected by my comments. I am committed to working with the NHL to amend my actions.”
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The Panthers are owned by Vincent J. Viola. He and Cifu co-founded Virtu Financial in 2008. Cifu has held an ownership stake in the Panthers since 2013, when Viola purchased the team.
Cifu is listed as the “vice chairman, partner, and alternate governor of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment (SSE), the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, FLA Live Arena, and SSE’s additional operating entities,” on the Panthers’ website. He still serves as the CEO at Virtu Financial and sits on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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