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TheRinger.com reported that a source pointed
the website to five anonymous Twitter accounts from which
Colangelo allegedly criticized his team's players and coaches
plus former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie.
One of the accounts also reportedly passed along private medical
information about then-Sixers center Jahlil Okafor plus gossip
about other players, including star big man Joel Embiid.
Colangelo admitted that one of the five accounts was his, but he
denied knowledge of the other four. However, TheRinger.com put
together a detailed list of circumstantial evidence making the
case that all of the accounts were controlled by Colangelo --
including the fact that three of the accounts immediately
switched from public to private last week after the reporter
told the team of his suspicions without mentioning those three
accounts.
"Like many of my colleagues in sports, I have used social media
as a means to keep up with the news," Colangelo said in a
statement to TheRinger.com. "While I have never posted anything
whatsoever on social media, I have used the @Phila1234567
Twitter account referenced in this story to monitor our industry
and other current events. This storyline is disturbing to me on
many levels, as I am not familiar with any of the other accounts
that have been brought to my attention, nor do I know who is
behind them or what their motives may be in using them."
Embiid, speaking to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, said he heard by
phone from Colangelo on Tuesday, with the team executive denying
the report.
"I talked to him and he said that he didn't say that," Embiid
said. "He called me just to deny the story. Gotta believe him
until proven otherwise. If true, though, that would be really
bad."
Embiid then sent a tongue-in-cheek tweet to one of Colangelo's
alleged burner accounts, writing, "Joel told me that @samhinkie
IS BETTER AND SMARTER THAN YOU @AlVic40117560 #BurnerAccount"
Colangelo won the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2004-05
when he was with the Phoenix Suns and in 2006-07 when he was
with the Toronto Raptors. One of the alleged burner accounts
took shots at Raptors president Masai Ujiri.
Colangelo, 52, joined the 76ers in April 2016, with his father,
longtime NBA and USA Basketball executive Jerry Colangelo, also
in a management role with the team at the time.
The Twitter hullabaloo broke on the same day that the 76ers
reportedly handed a three-year contract extension to coach Brett
Brown in the wake of the team's 42-victory gain this year and a
trip to the second round of the playoffs.
--Field Level Media
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