The Florida Panthersโ vice chairman and alternate governor, Doug Cifu, has been suspended by the NHL due to inappropriate posts he made on his now-disabled social media account. This suspension bars him from participating in any team or league activities.
The incident began when Cifu engaged in a controversial exchange on X with a fan from Toronto. The fan initially provoked the discussion by drawing a comparison between the aggressive moves made by Florida players in the ongoing series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the conflict involving Israel and the Palestinians.
In response, a post from Cifuโs account labeled the fan a โ51st state anti semite loser.โ This comment alluded to former President Donald Trumpโs previous statements about potentially annexing Canada as a 51st state. The post, along with others, was removed soon afterward, and Cifuโs social media account was taken down.
According to a statement from the NHL, which was first reported by a Canadian news outlet, โThe NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifuโs X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate. As a result, Mr. Cifu has been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Club and the NHL.โ
Doug Cifu, also involved with the Panthersโ historic Stanley Cup victory last year, is an accomplished business leader. He is the CEO of Virtu Financial, a company he co-founded with Vincent Viola, the owner, chairman, and governor of the Panthers, back in 2008.
An in-person meeting between Cifu and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to happen in the future.
In a statement addressed to Florida Hockey Now, Cifu expressed remorse, saying, โMy 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.โ