The Philadelphia 76ers parted ways with general manager Bryan Colangelo after his wife admitted to using several “burner” Twitter accounts to praise her husband and bash Sixers players, among other things. According to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, Colangelo’s father, Jerry Colangelo, threatened the team in an attempt to save his son’s job:
More than one person who spoke to PhillyVoice on the condition of anonymity suggested Jerry Colangelo tried to intervene on Bryan’s behalf, threatening to interfere with club relationships around the league. The Sixers, aware of Colangelo’s influence around the league and his connection to numerous agents and power brokers after decades of work in basketball, opted to move forward carefully in what team sources described as a chaotic, uncertain environment.
Discussions PhillyVoice had with people inside and outside the organization turned up no connection between Bryan or Bryan’s staff to his father’s actions over the past week.
Asked by the Inquirer’s Mike Sielski about Jerry Colangelo’s involvement during his press conference on Thursday, Joshua Harris offered a denial.
“Jerry was not involved with the process in any way, I am aware of the press report, it’s just not true. We did give Jerry a head’s up at the end of the process, just before this morning before seeing you all. Jerry was respectful of the process we had to go through.”
Jerry Colangelo has been around the league for a long time, and, as such, probably does have a great deal of influence.
Now 78 years old, Jerry Colangelo is perhaps best known for being the first-ever general manager for the Phoenix Suns. He worked for the Chicago Bulls prior to his time in Phoenix. Now, he’s a special advisor to the 76ers.
