Who is Doug Cifu? Why NHL is banning Panthers minority owner from any involvement with team

Florida Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu will be suspended from any involvement with the team or the league after he made a series of offensive social media posts on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The offensive posts were from an exchange with a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers' second-round playoff opponent. They included statements about the conflict between Israel and Palestine as well as a reference to Canada becoming the 51st state.

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Cifu will have an in-person meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at a later date, but in the meantime, he will not be involved in any team activities. The Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions after beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the finals last year. 

Here's what to know about Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu.

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Who is Doug Cifu?

Cifu is the vice chairman and alternate governor of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Panthers and FLA Live Arena. He is the CEO of Virtu Financial, a financial technology services company co-founded in by Panthers majority owner Vincent Viola.

Cifu has his name etched on the Stanley Cup after the Panthers captured the title last season. His social media account has now been shut down.

Doug Cifu tweet

The offending messages sent by Cifu came from a back-and-forth on X with a Maple Leafs supporter with the handle "Dr. Grizzo."

On the night of May 11, after the Panthers' Game 4 victory, to even their series with Toronto, Dr. Grizzo wrote, "Hey, what's worse, using headshots to win a series or using starvation as a weapon to win a war?" The minority owner had five Israeli flags in his bio on X.

Cifu responded to the message with, "Actually being a whiny dope anti-semite is clearly worse. Loser."

Dr. Grizzo responded: "Not approving of using starvation as a weapon makes me a bigot?" before adding comments about Cifu's stock market prowess and political views.

Cifu then wrote, "Eat s— 51st state anti-semite loser. Israel now and forever. Until ever last Hamas rat is eliminated."

The NHL was made aware of the messages and suspended Cifu on Tuesday. In a statement, the league wrote: "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. An in-person meeting will be scheduled with Mr. Cifu and the Commissioner at a date to be determined." 

Doug Cifu net worth

Cifu appears to have a net worth of at least $118 million. His wealth has been accumulated mostly from stock shares in Virtu Financial, the company for which he is the CEO.

Who owns the Panthers?

The Panthers are owned by Vincent Viola. He is the majority owner and governor of Sunrise Sports and Entertainment, which owns the team and its arena.

Viola purchased the Panthers in September 2013 for $250 million.