Bryan Colangelo resigns from 76ers; investigators say wife ran Twitter accounts
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia 76ers announced Thursday that president of basketball operations and general manager Bryan Colangelo has resigned.
Colangelo became embroiled in controversy after several secret Twitter accounts were tied to both him and his wife. Those accounts unleashed privileged information and attacks on Sixers players, coaches and former and rival executives.
In a statement, the law firm hired to investigate the situation said:
"As a result of our investigation, we do not believe that Mr. Colangelo established the Twitter accounts or posted content on those accounts. The evidence supports the conclusion that Ms. Barbara Bottini, Mr. Colangelo's wife, established the Twitter accounts and posted content on those accounts," read a statement from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
"When interviewed, Ms. Bottini admitted establishing and operating the accounts. Forensic evidence corroborates her admissions," the statement continues.
While their investigation could not link Colangelo to the accounts and he denied involvement, they note that, "our investigation was limited and impeded by certain actions taken by Ms. Bottini, including her decision to delete the contents of her iPhone by executing a factory reset of the device prior to surrendering it for forensic review."
However, the investigation also revealed substantial evidence that Colangelo was the source of sensitive, non-public, club-related information contained in certain posts to the Twitter accounts.
"We believe that Mr. Colangelo was careless and in some instances reckless in failing to properly safeguard sensitive, non-public, club-related information in communications with individuals outside the 76ers organization," the firm said.
Some of the tweets took issue with star center Joel Embiid's off-court behavior. Others claimed former center Nerlens Noel was a problem in the locker room and that Jahlil Okafor's injury issues may have scuttled a trade to the Pelicans.
The tweets included defenses of Colangelo's job performance and disparaging comments about his predecessor with the Sixers, Sam Hinkie, and his successor as president of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri. Other tweets alluded to sensitive information about events leading to Markelle Fultz's bizarre season-long shooting yips.
The tweets mentioned the Sixers have video footage, presumably from their practice facility, of Fultz's trainer, Keith Williams, instructing Fultz to shoot while sitting on a chair lying on his back. Only a small circle of Sixers would have been privy to that information.
In a statement posted by NBA.com, Colangelo said he didn't resign, but rather he and the team decided to part ways.
He also disputed the law firm's findings that he was reckless with sensitive information.
"At no point did I ever purposefully or directly share any sensitive, non-public, club-related information with her," he said.
His statement goes on to say:
"Her actions were a seriously misguided effort to publicly defend and support me, and while I recognize how inappropriate these actions were, she acted independently and without my knowledge or consent.
Further, the content she shared was filled with inaccuracies and conjecture which in no way represent my own views or opinions. While this was obviously a mistake, we are a family and we will work through this together.
Although I am not directly responsible for the actions, I regret this incident occurred and understand that it has become a distraction for the team. Therefore, the organization and I have mutually agreed to part ways," he said.
The 76ers said that coach Brett Brown would oversee basketball operations on an interim basis and the search for a new general manager would begin immediately.
"It has become clear Bryan's relationship with our team and his ability to lead the 76ers moving forward has been compromised," the team said in a statement.
Here is the full statement:
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