Regardless of the findings of an independent investigation the Sixers have launched into president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo, the story may have already caused significant damage, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
A report last night from Ben Detrick of The Ringer presents evidence that Colangelo was operating several anonymous Twitter accounts on which he was criticizing players, coaches and opponents and sharing inside information. Colangelo admitted owning @phila1234567, but said he uses it to monitor social media and has never posted anything. He denied any connection to four others: “Eric jr,” “HonestAbe,” “Enoughunkownsources” and “Still Balling,” all of which issued controversial tweets.
“I think the damage is done,” an unidentified NBA executive told Pompey. “I don’t know if the players can trust him. I think he lost the trust of the players unless it’s proven definitively that it wasn’t him.”
Colangelo, who is attending pre-draft workouts in Los Angeles, was “visibly shaken” Tuesday when he heard about the report, according to Pompey. He has been part of Philadelphia’s front office since April of 2016.
The controversy comes at a crucial time for the Sixers, who hope to make a splash in the free agent market this summer. The team reportedly has interest in both LeBron James and Paul George, but they may look elsewhere if Colangelo remains in charge.
“That’s why they are going to have to definitively prove that it wasn’t him,” the executive added. “You are getting into free agency, and these players aren’t going to take a chance coming to the Sixers.”
There’s more tonight on the story:
- Colangelo could be fired “for cause” if the Sixers determine he used company property, such as computers or phones, in a way that harmed the franchise, according to Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated. McCann advises the Sixers to hire outside attorneys to conduct the investigation, similar to what the Mavericks did when their front office scandal became public. He notes that the NBA constitution allows commissioner Adam Silver to punish a franchise or team employee who damages the interests of the league. If the NBA decides that Colangelo’s actions hurt its relationship with the players’ union, the issue may be covered by labor law.
- Another concern is the effect that revealing inside information could have on gambling, McCann adds in the same piece. NBA analyst Larry Coon points out that the league’s operations manual has a “no tipping” policy that forbids the release of such information to bettors. Coon suggests it’s possible that “gamblers knew Colangelo himself was posting through sock puppet account(s), and therefore his posting of confidential information through those accounts potentially constituted tipping.”
- Colangelo continues to issue strong denials, texting “Someone’s out to get me” and “This is clearly not me,” relays Ryan Young of Yahoo Sports. Colangelo has reached out to some of the people mentioned in the tweets to assure them he wasn’t responsible, adds ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
- Timestamps on some of the Eric jr posts show they were made while Colangelo was addressing the media, notes Rich Hoffman of The Athletic (Twitter links). The Sixers’ investigation may focus on Colangelo’s friends and family, tweets Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports.
- No matter what the investigation finds, Colangelo will have a difficult time keeping his job, contends Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Heard his wife is trying to take the blame? This dude is pathetic. KD doing it as a player is just being petty, your GM doing it and releasing sensitive info undermines your organization. Like a CEO doing this that impacts a publicly traded stock is already fired.
Listening to WIP & 975 now, they’re still talking about the wife. Also he’s moving to PA now and wife may be staying at house in Medford. This is nuts
So she takes the fall, keeps the house and whatever else she wants, and kicks him to the curb?
gotta fire this dude it’s no way you can come back from this as a GM/Front Office Executive the damage had already been done & it seem like he had something to do with it IMO & I’m a 6ers fan smh I’m so disappointed
I don’t recall reading on this site that JOkafor failed another team’s physical, blocking a trade. So his sock puppets failed to get traction!
He was right about JOkafor & NNoel though I think. Now what did he say negative about Embiid & Fultz– the Ringer didn’t say.
Abput future plans, the sock puppets may be useful for gauging reaction, and just being overall “plugged in”. But he probably went too far with it.
It was clearly him
I say off with his head
Of course it was him, should be fired & never let back to any job in the NBA, what a plank, never did anything good, that goes to show that executive of the year means nothing, as he won it twice. Why the NBA keep on interfering with teams like the CP3 to Lakers fiasco & this clown to Philly, I just don’t know. I think Hinkie was unbelievably good & ahead of his time, created a blue print for success when you are in a very bad place. I suppose visionaries are never valued until much later. Bring back Hinkie to Philly please & get rid of the clown.
Second that.
All signs point to Colangelo being the owner of the accounts, but a part of me thinks its someone close to him (wife or kid) that actually runs the accounts. Even if that was true, its definitely an issue that medical information is being leaked and that someone in his family has some strong criticism for current and former 76ers players. While theres no issue with criticism, its a lot easier to understand when its in person as opposed to being said behind a computer screen. From everything I’ve heard, a lot of people in the NBA/reporters with good connections would be surprised if Colangelo was the actual owner of the accounts since they said he seems to be very self-conscious about his image. Either way, I don’t see anyway Colangelo survives this unless its proven that somebody else in the organization is the owner of the accounts.