PHILADELPHIA– The Philadelphia 76ers’ off season has gotten off to a bang.
After C Joel Embiid entertained many by playing pick up basketball earlier this week, a new report has fans and pundits alike scratching their heads.
According to a report published by The Ringer on Tuesday night, Sixers’ general manager Bryan Colangelo allegedly used up to five ‘burner’ Twitter accounts to diss players, former colleagues, and even offer inside medical information on some players.
The report is extremely detailed, but outlines how one Ringer staffer received an anonymous tip from someone involved in “artificial intelligence” that was tracking five Twitter accounts that followed, liked, and retweeted similar tweets and accounts.
The accounts also all used similar wording and focused on topics surrounding the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers.
That Ringer staffer then reached out to the Philaelphia 76ers about one specific account with the name “Eric Jr.”
The Sixers’ staffer allegedly spoke with Colangelo who confirmed that he was the user behind the “Eric Jr.” account.
Despite not mentioning either of the other four accounts, when the Ringer went back to check on them, they had all been either deleted or turned private in a strange coincidence.
The report goes on to break down some of what the accounts, specifically the “Eric Jr.” account touched on, including former Sixers’ C Jahlil Okafor’s medical issues, questioning first round pick G Markelle Fultz, and criticizing former Sixers’ general manager Sam Hinkie and Embiid.
Here are some of the tweets in question:
Within a short while of the story being published, Embiid went to Twitter to announce his own reaction:
Despite his early reaction, Embiid went on to post this message denying he believed the report:
Embiid also went on to release a statement to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Some media are speculating that the source for The Ringer’s story was Hinkie, but it is unknown at this time.
The news broke after the Sixers had announced the team signed coach Brett Brown to a 3-year extension earlier in the day.
On Wednesday, the team announced it is launching an independent investigation into the matter.
