76ers president Bryan Colangelo resigns after Twitter scandal in which his wife allegedly used burner accounts to leak sensitive information and blast players

Matt Rourke/AP

• The Philadelphia 76ers and team president Bryan Colangelo have agreed to part ways in the wake of a scandal that appeared to link him to five burner Twitter accounts.
• An investigation found that Colangelo's wife ran the accounts, which criticized players and appeared to leak sensitive team information.
• Colangelo denied involvement and knowledge of the accounts; the firm handling the investigation believed him.
• The information tweeted from the accounts could have only come from a handful of 76ers employees and may have negatively impacted the view of the team heading into a big offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers and team president Bryan Colangelo have agreed to part ways after a scandal involving burner Twitter accounts, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The decision comes days after an explosive report from The Ringer that appeared to link Colangelo to five anonymous accounts, four of which discussed sensitive player and team information and criticized players, coaches, and executives.

The law firm the 76ers hired to investigate in the wake of The Ringer's report found that Colangelo's wife, Barbara Bottini, ran the accounts. She admitted to establishing them and operating them.

When contacted by The Ringer, the 76ers said one of the accounts, which did not tweet, was owned by Colangelo, who used it to keep up with NBA news. There was no definitive proof linking Colangelo to the others; however, when The Ringer contacted the 76ers about two of the accounts, they intentionally did not mention the other three. Shortly after reaching the 76ers, the status of the other three was changed from public to private, further raising suspicions.

Colangelo denied knowledge of the accounts shortly after the report came out. 

In the days after the initial report, internet sleuths found evidence that suggested the accounts were linked to Bottini.

From the firm's conclusion:

The accounts tweeted criticisms of 76ers center Joel Embiid's attitude and management of his injuries in years past as well as former center Nerlens Noel's locker room conduct. There were also tweets that criticized Colangelo's predecessor, Sam Hinkie, head coach Brett Brown, and questioned the handling of rookie guard Markelle Fultz's injury and rehab.

Additionally, the accounts appeared to leak private medical information about players, including that former center Jahlil Okafor, failed a physical, thus canceling a potential trade.

The 76ers are approaching a critical offseason in which they have the cap space to sign a max free agent. The team is reportedly targeting LeBron James and Paul George. The optics surrounding the scandal might have had a negative impact on the team if Colangelo stayed in the position.

According to ESPN, Brown will oversee basketball operations in the interim.