Sixers Hire Law Firm to Investigate Alleged Colangelo Burner Accounts

Last week, The Ringer's investigation into five suspicious Twitter accounts captivated the NBA fan cosmos. The reporting suggested—and, initially, it was widely believed—that Sixers president Bryan Colangelo was the operator of the accounts. After a bunch of internet sleuthing, however, fans discovered Colangelo's wife, Barbara Bottini, was the likelier operator.

The Sixers announced they launched an investigation, and many have suggested Colangelo is unlikely to come out of it with his job intact. To get to the bottom of this mess, Philly has employed the legal firm Paul/Weiss, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

"An angry, embarrassed Sixers ownership group has been discussing the possibility of firing Colangelo," Woj reports. "The Sixers are pushing for a resolution as soon as early this week."

Interestingly, Colangelo will likely still be held responsible if his wife is found as the operator of the accounts.

"Ownership has been reluctant to separate Colangelo from any family member or close associate responsible for this embarrassing episode," Woj adds.

The report states that Colangelo has surrendered his phones and electronic devices to be inspected and Paul/Weiss is using cyber intelligence consultants to determine whether he ran the accounts.

Paul/Weiss has experience investigating NBA matters. The league's Players Association hired the firm in 2013 to investigate the business practices of former executive director Billy Hunter.

The Sixers players—many of whom were criticized by the burner accounts—seem to be giving Colangelo the benefit of the doub for now. If he's found to be culpable, it's hard to imagine he'll land in another NBA position in the near future, despite his long and successful run in the league.