Douglas Cifu, vice-chairman of the Florida Panthers, was suspended over comments on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Canada

Trigger Warning : Vulgar language

On May 12, the Toronto Sun reported that following the Florida Panthers ’ win against the Toronto Maple Leafs , Douglas Cifu , Panthers’ Vice Chairman, Partner, and Alternate Governor, commented the following on a social media post directed at a Leafs fan and Canada, in general:

“Eat sh*t 51st state anti semite loser. Israel now and forever. Until ever last Hamas rat is eliminated.”

A few more comments were exchanged between Mr. Cifu and a Leafs fan with the X account name of Dr. Grizzo . Douglas Cifu commented, “Actually being a whiny dope anti semite is clearly worse. Loser.”

LMFAOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/Q33jRFHM2P

— Dr. Grizzo (PhD, MD, BA, MBA, 7'4 240 IQ) (@mrgrozz) May 12, 2025

NHL suspended the alternate governor of the Florida Panthers, Douglas Cifu, over inappropriate and unacceptable comments on X

BREAKING NEWS: Doug Cifu of Virtu Capital, was suspended by the NHL indefinitely from any and all involvement with his team and the league. pic.twitter.com/7PySIYcxPq

— Kevin Malone (@Malone_Wealth) May 13, 2025

When Dr. Grizzo screenshotted the replies and created an X post out of it, other X users commented on it. One X user wrote, “Report this to X. Maybe he gets suspended for hate.”

All this happened on Sunday night. And hours later, the NHL suspended Douglas Cifu. To be precise, the NHL suspended Mr. Cifu on Monday night.

The NHL shared a statement with the Toronto Sun. It read, “The NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifu’s X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate. As a result, Mr. Cifu has been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Club and the NHL.”

Florida Hockey Now reported that the NHL would schedule an in-person meeting between Douglas Cifu and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at a later date.

The @FlaPanthers owner, @dougielarge, of the @NHL has made this derogatory statement downplaying and disrespecting those with special needs. #Shameful pic.twitter.com/Lqfm2nJQ3g

— travis_b13 (@the_travis_b13) March 22, 2024

Douglas Cifu previously made derogatory comments in March 2024

Toronto Sun reported that Douglas Cifu has a history of making derogatory comments. On March 22, 2024, an X account by the name Travis shared a screenshot of Douglas Cifu’s comment and captioned it,

“The @FlaPanthers owner, @dougielarge, of the @NHL has made this derogatory statement downplaying and disrespecting those with special needs. #Shameful”

Mr. Cifu’s comments were:

“Dude get a life. You sad sack of sh*t. I’d call your pathetic school district and let them know what a sad creepy loser you are but I’m sure you’re special needs and part of a protected class. Enjoy your poverty. Dumb f**k.”




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