Sixers boss Colangelo quits over bogus Twitter accounts
NEW YORK: Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo quit on Thursday after it emerged that his wife operated fake Twitter accounts to praise his work and criticise players, the team said.
A statement from Sixers managing partner Josh Harris said Colangelo had tendered his resignation following an investigation into the allegations which broke last week.
“It has become clear Bryan’s relationship with our team and his ability to lead the 76ers moving forward has been compromised,” Harris said. “Recognising the detrimental impact this matter had on the organisation, Colangelo offered his resignation.”
Colangelo’s departure came after The Ringer news website said the executive had secretly operated five Twitter accounts under bogus identities and used them to take potshots at Sixers players and coaching staff.
In a statement last week, Colangelo acknowledged using one anonymous Twitter account identified in The Ringer story but denied any link to the four other accounts.
The Sixers commissioned a New York law firm – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison – to investigate the allegations, which led to the discovery that Colangelo’s wife, Barbara Bottini, was behind the accounts.
The firm said Bottini had admitted setting up the accounts and posting content. However the investigation said it had found no evidence of Colangelo’s involvement.
“The evidence supports the conclusion that Ms. Barbara Bottini ... established the Twitter accounts and posted content on those accounts,” the law firm said in a statement. The firm noted however that the investigation had been “limited and impeded” by the fact that Bottini had executed a “factory reset” of her iPhone before turning it over to investigators for analysis. The investigators said Colangelo had also been “careless and in some instances reckless” in failing to “properly safeguard sensitive, non-public, club-related information.” — AFP