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FLORIDA - Florida Panthers executive Douglas Cifu has been suspended indefinitely by the National Hockey League after allegedly posting inflammatory remarks on social media during the team’s playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cifu, who serves as the Panthers’ vice chairman, minority owner, and alternate governor, came under scrutiny following an exchange on X (formerly Twitter).
The league issued a statement Tuesday declaring his behavior “unacceptable and inappropriate,” adding that he is banned from any involvement with the team or the NHL until he meets in person with Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The comments reportedly occurred during a back-and-forth with a Maple Leafs fan who referenced recent hits by Panthers players and made a controversial comparison involving the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In response, Cifu allegedly wrote, “Eat [expletive] 51st state anti-Semite loser. Israel now and forever. Until [every] last Hamas rat is eliminated,” alluding to a previous remark by Donald Trump about Canada becoming a U.S. state.
Cifu’s account was deactivated shortly after the incident, which reportedly took place on Sunday, the same day Florida tied the playoff series at two games apiece with a 2-0 win over Toronto.
While the Panthers declined to comment directly, Cifu addressed the situation in a statement to Florida Hockey Now, writing, “Two days ago, I posted regrettable and inflammatory comments on social media… I sincerely apologize to all those affected by my comments.”
In addition to his role with the Panthers, Cifu is the CEO and co-founder of Virtu Financial, a financial technology firm established in 2008 with Panthers owner Vincent Viola.