Report: Jerry Colangelo threatened to tarnish 76ers’ league relationships

Jerry Colangelo helped his son Bryan move up the ranks with the Philadelphia 76ers, and it sounds like the former did all he could to help save the latter’s job.

As we found out on Thursday, it wasn’t enough. Bryan Colangelo turned in his resignation with the Sixers after a investigation determined that his wife was responsible for several social media accounts that featured tweets criticizing the team and divulging private information. According to a report from Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice, the 78-year-old Jerry Colangelo tried to use his influence to sway the 76ers’ decision.

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.

The elder Colangelo is still with the Sixers as a special adviser, but it seems highly unlikely that he will remain in that role in the wake of what has transpired.

Bryan Colangelo has maintained that he had no knowledge of the tweets, and he placed the blame entirely on his wife in a statement he released after he resigned.