Manti Te'o Girlfriend Story is Apparently a Hoax: By or On Te'o is the Question

[sosa39rams]

Apparently the "girlfriend" Te'o had (which died of cancer 1 day after his grandma died) was a fraud performed by Te'o and his friend, for publicity.

If this is true, its game over for Te'o. He'll be absolutely shredded, and will slip BIG.

The article itself is BIG, so I will only post the link if its alright!

Manti Te'o's Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax

[thoey]

Wow. Just, wow. (no more words come to mind)

[AvengerRam]

Here is an update:

On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te'o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators.
Dennis Brown
University Spokesman | Assistant Vice President

I don't claim to know the facts here, but it looks like Te'o might actually be the victim of a hoax, rather than its perpetrator.

I recommend that everyone allow this story to develop before forming an opinion (and, in the interest of fairness, I'm going to modify the thread title pending clarification of the story).

[sosa39rams]

Here is an update:



I don't claim to know the facts here, but it looks like Te'o might actually be the victim of a hoax, rather than its perpetrator.

I recommend that everyone allow this story to develop before forming an opinion (and, in the interest of fairness, I'm going to modify the thread title pending clarification of the story).

You're right, the thread title may have been premature. Though I have formed my opinion and I believe 100% that Te'o had EVERYTHING to do with this act of immaturity and scumbagedness (is that a word?)

After reading the entire story, its extremely difficult to find anyway to slide on the side of Te'o and show him any remorse. If this is true, the guy is truly a scumbag.

[AvengerRam]

You're right, the thread title may have been premature. Though I have formed my opinion and I believe 100% that Te'o had EVERYTHING to do with this act of immaturity and scumbagedness (is that a word?)

After reading the entire story, its extremely difficult to find anyway to slide on the side of Te'o and show him any remorse. If this is true, the guy is truly a scumbag.

It was a good "scoop" by you, and your interpretation of the story may prove to be 100% correct in the end (the notion of Te'o having a purely on-line relationship without his knowledge for an extended period of time seems odd, to say the least).

If it turns out that he was in on this, and that it was done to create hype for him and Notre Dame, I will not only agree with your "scumbagedness" conclusion... I will probably take him off my draft board entirely.

If he's just a gullible young man who was fooled by a con artist, then I'll feel bad for the guy, but go on simply evaluating him as a football player.

However this turns out, this is one of the weirdest stories I've ever heard in the sports world.

[Nick]

This could make the Combine interviews a bit more interesting, to say the least.

[sosa39rams]

It was a good "scoop" by you, and your interpretation of the story may prove to be 100% correct in the end (the notion of Te'o having a purely on-line relationship without his knowledge for an extended period of time seems odd, to say the least).

If it turns out that he was in on this, and that it was done to create hype for him and Notre Dame, I will not only agree with your "scumbagedness" conclusion... I will probably take him off my draft board entirely.

If he's just a gullible young man who was fooled by a con artist, then I'll feel bad for the guy, but go on simply evaluating him as a football player.

However this turns out, this is one of the weirdest stories I've every heard in the sports world.

Exactly the same way I feel. It sure is bizarre.

[AvengerRam]

Here is a quote from Te'o himself:

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her.
"To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating.
"It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life.
"I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been.
"In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was.
"Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft."

I really want to believe him.

[r8rh8rmike]

Interesting that he never denied the many news stories of their meetings, family statements about them getting together, or talking to her on the phone. Pretty bizarre stuff.

[sosa39rams]

In the article he claims they met after a Stanford game in which they exchanged phone numbers... Not to mention there is a clip of an interview he gave of him saying "She if the most beautiful person I have ever met", pretty hard to get yourself confused like that...

I have 0 belief in Te'o.

[AvengerRam]

Say it ain't so, Te'o... say it ain't so!

[Rambos]

"To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating.
” -- Manti Te'o statement

[sosa39rams]

Not to mention the idiot also posted on his twitter account to his "girlfriend":

"It was nice meeting you".. Thats 3 separate times he's contradicted himself with his new statement. The ship is sinking.

For a guy that was going to get drafted high for his intangibles, he sure as hell has messed up BIG.

[Rambos]

Reminds me of this.....



I'm sorry Chuck

[r8rh8rmike]

There are plenty of clear cut assumptions made in the South Bend Tribune that Te'o never corrected, yet he was duped?? If these quotes are accurate, I don't see how he didn't know what was going on.

Te'o and Kekua meet after Stanford's 45-38 victory over Notre Dame in Palo Alto, according to the South Bend Tribune: "Their stares got pleasantly tangled, then Manti Te'o extended his hand to the stranger with a warm smile and soulful eyes." Kekua, a Stanford student, swaps phone numbers with Te'o.

Te'o and Kekua are friends. "She was gifted in music, multi-lingual, had dreams grounded in reality and the talent to catch up to them" (South Bend Tribune). "They started out as just friends," Te'o's father, Brian, told the Tribune in October 2012. "Every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, and that happened to be the time Manti was home, so he would meet with her there."