While the official term for Bryan Colangelo's departure from the Philadelphia 76ers may not be "fired," Colangelo and the organization have agreed to part ways and it was because of alleged unethical behaviour when it came to multiple burner-Twitter accounts that traced back to Colangelo which discussed matters inside the organization, players, past co-workers and other matters of 76ers basketball that should not have been discussed publicly—especially by the President of Basketball Operations.
The Sixers are holding a news conference with owners this afternoon to make the announcement.
There were rumors Colangelo did not know about four of the accounts and that, in fact, his wife had been the one operating those accounts. Whatever the case, the taste it left in the organization's mouth was not good and they advised Colangelo that they were looking to make a change.
Coach Brett Brown will replace Colangelo in the interim as the franchise preps for the NBA Draft and a search for a new GM will take place immediately.
RELATED: 76ERS INVESTIGATING BRYAN COLANGELO'S ALLEGED INSIDER TWITTER ACCOUNTS
The 76ers organization made the following statement regarding the split on Thursday:
The Philadelphia 76ers organization has accepted the resignation of President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo, effective immediately. We appreciate Bryan's many contributions during his time leading our basketball operations and thank for him for the work he did in positioning the team for long-term success.
An independent investigation by New York-based law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP was conducted into certain anonymous social media accounts that posted information concerning the club, personnel, and related topics. It has become clear Bryan's relationship with our team and his ability to lead to 76ers was moving forward has been compromised.
Recognizing the detrimental impact this matter had on the organization, Colangelo offered his resignation.
We find the situation to be disappointing for our entire organization. We are determined to continue the tremendous progress we have made over the last two seasons in our quest to win an NBA championship. As such, we have appointed head coach Brett Brown to oversee basketball operations on an interim basis to lead our efforts in this important off-season. He will work closely with the rest of our talented basketball operations department in preparing for the upcoming NBA draft and thereafter until a new General Manager is found. The search for a new general manager will commence immediately.