Investigation underway after reports NBA exec. trashed his own players on secret Twitter accounts
What exactly is it with the NBA and secret Twitter accounts?
Golden State Warriors superstar and reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant came under fire in September when he was accused of having a secret Twitter handle that he used to defend himself or attack his detractors. This all came to light when Durant seemingly forgot to log onto said burner account to defend himself, and ended up defending himself in the third person on his official Twitter account.
KD has secret accounts that he uses to defend himself and forgot to switch to them when he was replying to this guy I'm actually speechless pic.twitter.com/9245gnpa3c
— idk (@harrisonmc15) September 18, 2017
It was petty and juvenile, but ultimately harmless. When Durant’s playing career is over, it’s unlikely too many people will recall this incident.
Now, the fake Twitter account scandal seems to have hit Bryan Colangelo, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations, and the allegations seem far more severe.
First reported by The Ringer, Colangelo stands accused of using multiple fake Twitter accounts to do a variety of things. Colangelo allegedly used these accounts to question his own coaching staff’s decisions (of note, the current 76ers coaching staff was already in place when Colangelo took over, hence they’re not “his guys”); attack other NBA executives, including Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri; trash former and current players; and perhaps most alarmingly of all, disclose nonpublic medical information about former 76er Jahlil Okafor.
Suspiciously, as soon as The Ringer reached out to the 76ers media department, several of the offending accounts immediately went from public to private.
Surprisingly, a representative confirmed that Colangelo did use one of the accounts in question as a burner account, but denied any involvement with the others.
“Like many of my colleagues in sports, I have used social media as a means to keep up with the news. 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,” a statement from Colangelo read.
As foolish and immature as Durant’s Twitter escapades have been, they were all ultimately harmless. Colangelo’s foibles, considering that he’s the most recognizable front office executive of one of the NBA’s brightest up-and-coming teams, are considerably more serious.
They’re serious enough that the NBA has launched an official investigation into Colangelo.
“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,” the Sixers said in a statement via ESPN. “We will report the results of that investigation as soon as it is concluded.”
Several of the alleged burner accounts took shots at several of the team’s top players, including Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz. Colangelo is reportedly scrambling to reach out to his players.
76ers president Bryan Colangelo has been actively reaching out to individuals mentioned in those burner accounts, insisting that he isn't responsible for those tweets, league sources tell ESPN. Sixers probe is underway in aftermath of The Ringer story.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2018
The often affable Embiid seemed to take the controversy in stride, joking about it on his own Twitter account.
Joel told me that @samhinkie IS BETTER AND SMARTER THAN YOU @AlVic40117560 #BurnerAccount
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) May 30, 2018
“I talked to [Colangelo] and he said that he didn’t say that,” Embiid told ESPN’s Wojnarowski. “He called me just to deny the story. Gotta believe him until proven otherwise. If true, though, that would be really bad.”
“Really bad” might be an understatement. The Sixers are in prime position to make a splash in free agency. If they could add a talent like Paul George, it could vault the Sixers into legitimate Eastern Conference contention. But would any top players want to play for a team president whose possibly duplicitous behavior may have just been exposed for the world to see?
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