The Philadelphia 76ers are sticking by Mike Muscala while distancing themselves from comments made by Muscala’s father in a series of recently surfaced tweets.

After Muscala’s father, Bob Muscala, referred to disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler as “egomaniacal” and suffering from “African American mental illness” on Twitter, Muscala has condemned the comments while new Sixers general manager Elton Brand has reaffirmed his commitment to the 27-year-old center.

“First and foremost, I want to apologize for my father’s offensive social media commentary.” Muscala said in a statement. “His comments were uncalled for and inappropriate, and they do not reflect who I am. I’d also like to apologize to the 76ers and my colleagues across the NBA for the distraction my father’s comments caused.”

Muscala also told reporters he loves his father but that he’s against that type of rhetoric.

“Having known Mike since his rookie year in 2013-14 when we were teammates, I am certain these posts are in no way reflective of his own personal beliefs,” Brand added in his own statement. “Mike has always been a great teammate and ambassador for the game of basketball, and he has never shied away from using his platform to do good in the community. He has our organization’s full support.”

The Sixers, unfortunately, are not unfamiliar with Twitter controversies. Philadelphia recently parted way with Bryan Colangelo after burner accounts revealed he was trashing his predecessor and players.

I must have missed what Mike Muscala's dad said to warrant this, but the Sixers just offered a joint statement from GM Elton Brand and Muscala himself apologizing for his dad's comments pic.twitter.com/NDyxv9Vtqc — Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 13, 2018





It’s an awkward situation between Muscala, his father and the Sixers, of course, but it’s one the team seems determined to face head on.

It’s not known if Muscala or anyone from the 76ers has reached out to Butler’s camp with an apology. No other actions have been announced at this time by either the Sixers or NBA.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

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