Former 76ers president Bryan Colangelo bought a share of the Illawarra Hawks, an Australian team.
Which means revisiting the infamous burner scandal.
Colangelo resigned in Philadelphia in 2018 after his wife, Barbara Bottini, admitted to operating several burner Twitter accounts that frequently praised Colangelo, revealed sensitive team information and sharply criticized 76ers players including Joel Embiid.
Colangelo, via Sam Phillips of The Sydney Morning Herald (hat tip: Adam Hermann of NBC Sports Philadelphia):“I haven’t addressed it very much over the course of the last two years. I have stayed very much under the radar on the topic because it’s a sensitive topic, for a lot of reasons,” Colangelo said.
“Family, personal, professional, or otherwise. I have to say I was dealt a pretty big blow, personally and professionally. And it’s been a difficult time dealing with the fallout. I was completely blindsided by the accusation and the storyline of the controversy.”
“Once that investigation was completed and I was absolved, I felt the appropriate thing to do - in conjunction with ownership there in Philly - was to mutually walk away.
“It was a difficult decision and a difficult time for me. But I have to say, it was a very, very difficult time for my family. Because of some of the reasons that came to light, it was something I thought was important not to talk about, quite frankly. And we’re still dealing with that.
“But the No.1 thing I thought needed to happen was trying to stay positive; preserve and love my family, protect their interests, emotionally or otherwise. And frankly, two years on, it’s gone. It’s in the past and I’m ready to move on.”
I sympathize with Colangelo and Bottini having a family issue play out publicly. That is unfortunate.
This answer also shows Colangelo doesn’t deserve credibility.
He wasn’t absolved. It was untrue when Colangelo said it at the time, and it’s untrue now.
The investigators concluded only that they found no forensic evidence that proved Colangelo knew of the Twitter accounts before they became public – and that they had a significant impediment to finding that evidence. Bottini deleted the contents of her phone before surrendering it for review.
The investigation also determined Colangelo was “careless and in some instances reckless in failing to properly safeguard sensitive, non-public, club-related information.”
Plus, Colangelo denied any knowledge of who ran the accounts at least two days after the news initially broke. Did Bottini really not tell him it was her by then?
Colangelo has paid a heavy price for this scandal. He lost his job leading an NBA front office, and he became a laughingstock. It will be difficult for him to rebuild his reputation.
But continuing to misrepresent the situation is not a good way to try.
