TORONTO (AP) Flint Firebirds owner Rolf Nilsen has been suspended indefinitely by the Ontario Hockey League.
OHL Commissioner David Branch announced that and other sanctions Thursday.
Nilsen fired coach John Gruden two times this season. The team announced Gruden, who also served as general manager, was fired Wednesday along with assistant coach Dave Karpa and named director of hockey operations Sergei Kharin its interim coach.
Branch responded by suspending Nilsen along with his appointees in management and coaching, including Kharin, from the franchise's hockey operations. The OHL also is requiring Nilsen cooperate with its investigation and pay for counseling for the players.
The players, including the owner's son, responded in a unified protest when Gruden was fired the first time in November and he got his job back the next day.
