Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris

Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

It’s another issue the Philadelphia 76ers can do without. On Friday’s media day, stars Joel Embiid and Paul George revealed there is no timeline for their returns from knee surgeries after coming off a dismal 24-58 season where both players missed a combined 104 games. But that wasn’t even the worst news for the franchise today — owner Josh Harris’ name surfaced in documents related to convicted pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

House Democrats on the Oversight Committee made public documents from Epstein’s estate that detailed his daily schedule. One of the papers read:

“Fri. Dec. 5, 2014 NY-ZORRO

“TBD TENTATIVE BREAKFAST Party w/Bill Gates (Invited Ron Baron and Josh Harris…awaiting reply).”

It’s not known if Harris accepted the invitation. At the time, Harris was a member of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which he co-founded. He stepped down from his day-to-day role in May 2021.

Harris Previously Distanced Himself From Epstein Ties

A New York Post story from May 2021 reported that Harris’ exit was partly due to tensions revolving around Epstein and another firm co-founder Leon Black.

“It was in 2011 that billionaire Leon Black — who on March 22 revealed he was stepping down from the helm of the giant buyout firm sooner than expected amid controversy over his Epstein ties — first floated the idea of working with the now-dead pedophile to his fellow co-founders Josh Harris and Marc Rowan,” according to the Post.

The report noted that Black proposed this collaboration despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a 14-year-old girl. The Post reported Black had continued associating with Epstein and was pushing Harris and Marc Rowan to hire him for work at Apollo.

“Harris and Rowan — repelled by Epstein and concerned about damage to Apollo’s reputation — said no, and the conversations never advanced, according to the sources. Nevertheless, tensions between the co-founders over Epstein — particularly between Black and Harris — persisted, and became a key issue as Black announced his surprise exit from the firm in March.”

Harris, who also owns the Washington Commanders and New Jersey Devils, bought the 76ers in October 2011. His ownership has been mired in turmoil, from Embiid’s injuries to the Ben Simmons and James Harden sagas, the hiring and firing of Sam Hinkie, Bryan Colangelo’s “Twittergate,” and the team’s constant playoff failures. Now, with his name appearing in Epstein-related documents, Harris faces yet another crisis threatening to overshadow his basketball operations.