Sixers release statement regarding the Ringer’s report

In case you missed it, the Ringer released a truly bizarre report about the Sixers’ General Manager Bryan Colangelo. The investigative report by Ben Detrick started when an anonymous tip contacted the Ringer about 5 twitter accounts that all were strikingly similar in their activities. The tipster claimed that the accounts, which were taking shots at Sixers players and coaches and releasing inside information about players, were run by Bryan Colangelo.

At this point, Colangelo has admitted to operating just one of the accounts, @Phila123567. It’s certainly possible that Colangelo is innocent of operating the other accounts that he’s been accused of running. However, the circumstantial evidence makes it seem like someone with inside knowledge about the organization was running the accounts, and the accounts do have links to Colangelo.

We may never get the full truth of the matter, but it seems like the Sixers are interested in doing so. The organization released a statement about the fiasco:

An online media outlet filed a story linking multiple social media accounts to 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo. The allegations are serious and we have commenced an independent investigation into the matter. We will report the results of that investigation as soon as it is concluded.

This is, without a doubt, the weirdest NBA story I can recall.

If it’s not handled properly, and if the truth never comes out, it could really damage the chemistry within the organization and the perception of the front office just before an important free agency period for the Sixers.

So now, we look on as the organization attempts to put this fire out. Sixers fans can only hope one of two things happen: 1) the Sixers’ investigation can find hard evidence that it was NOT Colangelo and bring that revelation public as quickly as possible (like before free agency and the draft). Or, 2) the Sixers’ investigation finds that, without a doubt, the accounts were indeed run by Colangelo (or that he was feeding info to the person running the accounts) and, in that case, move on from him.

If one of those two outcomes don’t come to fruition, the Sixers could be dealing with a long summer and a handful of long term distractions.