Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo resigned late Thursday, unable to survive a social media scandal. The executive had been linked to five Twitter accounts that were used to disclose privileged information and launch disparaging attacks on Philadelphia players, coaches, and other NBA personnel.
CEO Scott O’Neill and other members of the 76ers ownership group conducted an investigation into whether Colangelo was responsible for the social media posts. They hired a law firm and met on Tuesday evening. An investigation traced the Twitter accounts back to his wife, and pointed to Colangelo for sharing information that was “careless, and in some instances reckless.”
Colangelo issued a statement after he announced his resignation.
“While I am grateful that the independent investigation conducted by the 76ers has confirmed that I had no knowledge of or involement in the Twitter activity conducted by my wife, I vigorously dispute the allegation that my conduct was in any way reckless. At no point did I ever purposefully or directly share any sensitive, non-public, club-related information with her.”
When the allegations first surfaced in a story by The Ringer last week, the 53-year-old denied he was using burner accounts.
He then was reached by Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports and again vehemently denied he was behind the posts.
“Someone’s out to get me,” Colangelo said. “This is clearly not me.”
Plot Thickens
Bovada wasn’t buying it and posted odds on whether he would be in his position by the start of next season. “No” was paying at 1/3, with “yes” checking in at 2/1.
Colangelo has maintained his innocence, saying he was “totally unaware” of the accounts. Then it was reported that his wife, Barbara, sent out the tweets. She, along with her husband, met with the ownership group on Tuesday and were apparently interviewed separately.
By Wednesday, several media outlets were reporting that the 76ers brass was satisfied that he had no knowledge of the accounts and that his job was safe for the immediate future.
He showed up at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday to watch pre-draft workouts, including some with Duke guard Grayson Allen. The Sixers have the 26th pick in the June 21 draft, and could use it to take Allen.
Repercussions Possible
Colangelo’s wife, Barbara, reportedly acted alone, but the actions could have had lasting effects, and there was no way he could continue his duties, especially with current players who were criticized. Players Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Nerlens Noel were all targets of disparaging remarks.
One account with the name of Ericjr. posted, “alternative fact: Joel is not the future of the franchise, so who cares if he is not 100%m let’s exploit him.”
None of the teammates have publicly commented on the posts, but Embiid did sarcastically like the one about him.
Another area that could have been affected by the scandal was the free agent market, most notably whether or not LeBron James signed with the team in the offseason. The 76ers were the +175 favorite to land James in the offseason, but now have slipped to +300 after the scandal broke. The new team that BetOnline likes is the Houston Rockets at +150, but that could change now that Colangelo is not associated with the team.
