The general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers resigned Thursday following allegations that he had possibly published internal information and criticized league officials on social media under pseudonyms.
Last week, news site The Ringer published a report about Bryan Colangelo’s connection to multiple Twitter accounts that had shared confidential medical information about current and former players and lambasted other NBA executives.
An investigation by an outside law firm uncovered no forensic evidence indicating that Colangelo created the accounts, operated under the names Eric jr., Still Balling, Enoughunkownsources, and HonestAbe. However, his wife, Barbara Bottini, admitted to creating accounts.
She used them to harshly criticize Sixers players, including Joel Embiid, Jahil Okafor, and Nerlens Noel.
Colangelo, 52, initially denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the controversial tweets.
“Someone’s out to get me,” he told Yahoo Sports. “This is clearly not me.”
However, further investigations by the firm revealed that his wife was the author of the tweets, but that Colangelo was the source of the inside information.
“We appreciate Bryan’s many contributions during his time leading our basketball operations and thank him for the work he did in positioning the team for long-term success,” Josh Harris, managing partner for the Sixers, said in a statement announcing Colangelo’s resignation.
“It has become clear Bryan’s relationship with our team and his ability to lead the 76ers moving forward has been compromised,” he continued.
In his own statement confirming his departure, Colangelo apologized for his wife’s missteps, while still, distancing himself from involvement.
“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,” he said.
Colangelo comes from a long line of NBA executives, including his father, Jerry Colangelo, who formerly owned the Phoenix Suns and served as chairman of USA Basketball. His resignation marks an end to his nearly 30-year tenure working in the NBA.
