Colangelo's departure is expected to be described as a resignation by the 76ersgetty images
The 76ers and President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo have "agreed to part ways" following the investigation into his reported Twitter use, according to sources cited by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Sources said that Colangelo's departure "is expected to be described as a resignation." 76ers coach Brett Brown "will oversee basketball operations on an interim basis" (TWITTER.com, 6/7). Yahoo Sports' Chris Mannix reports the law firm leading the investigation "connected the burner accounts to Bryan Colangelo’s wife, Barbara, and that in interviews she admitted to establishing and operating the accounts." The firm indicated that they could not conclude if Bryan Colangelo "knew of these accounts" (TWITTER.com, 6/7). ESPN's Bomani Jones said Colangelo's wife "took the fall for her man." Jones: "Just because your wife said she did it does not tell me that your wife actually did this. ... She was in a position to send the tweets because of Colangelo" ("High Noon," ESPN, 6/7). ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said while Colangelo’s wife admitted she sent the tweets, that "essentially means you did it because where did she get the information?” Smith: “There’s no way on Earth that the Sixers believed that you didn’t know that your wife was doing that.” ESPN’s Max Kellerman: “You cannot keep someone around who makes it harder to do business in this offseason if you’re the Sixers. He had to go” (“First Take,” ESPN, 6/7).
END OF A STRANGE STORY: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Beaton & Cohen report the split "concludes a whirlwind eight days that captivated the basketball world, galvanized Internet sleuths and plunged one of the league’s most promising franchises into tumult" (WSJ.com, 6/7). In Philadelphia, Keith Pompey cites a source as saying that 76ers co-Owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer "were in charge of deciding Colangelo’s future with the team, with input from CEO Scott O’Neil" (PHILLY.com, 6/7).
