NHL suspends Florida Panthers exec for back-and-forth with playoff opponent's fan about Israel, Canada

The National Hockey League stated on Tuesday that a minority owner of the Florida Panthers has been suspended due to his social media activity Doug Cifu got into a spat with a Toronto Maple Leafs fan that turned into a discussion about the Israel-Palestine conflict and Cifu mentioning Canada as the st state Florida and Toronto are right now facing off in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMThe series has been rather chippy which began with a high hit from Florida's Sam Bennett on Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz - later in the challenge Stolarz got sick on the bench and has not played since A fan with the name Dr Grizzo posted on X Hey what's worse using headshots to win a series or using starvation as a weapon to win a war Cifu responded Veritably being a whiny dope anti-semite is clearly worse Loser NHL STANLEY CUP POSTSEASON ODDS STARS HURRICANES FAVORED Not approving of using starvation as a weapon makes me a bigot the fan replied adding a derogatory comment about Cifu's conservative political views Cifu wrote back Eat s--- st state anti-semite loser Israel now and forever Until ever sic last Hamas rat is eliminated Cifu then made his account private and deactivated his account Two days ago I posted regrettable and inflammatory comments on social media 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 The series is tied at two games apiece with Encounter in Toronto on Wednesday night Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter