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

[Nick]

I wouldn't be shocked if this thing went either way, with him being a victim or with him being part of it. Let's assume he was a victim of a hoax for a second. The first thing that comes to mind is that it seems he still lied about meeting her after the Stanford game and at least lied to his parents about them meeting up in Hawaii, likely because he was embarrassed about admitting to an online relationship. The other thing that comes to mind is it's pretty strange to consider someone the love of your life but never visit her in the hospital and not go to her funeral. That just doesn't add up to me.

[Tampa_Ram]

The first thing that comes to mind is that it seems he still lied about meeting her after the Stanford game and at least lied to his parents about them meeting up in Hawaii, likely because he was embarrassed about admitting to an online relationship.

I actually met my wife on an online game. I will say i have been embarresed to tell some family and friends about how we met in the past and i probably would of lied about some things if we had not met for 3 years.

The other thing that comes to mind is it's pretty strange to consider someone the love of your life but never visit her in the hospital and not go to her funeral. That just doesn't add up to me.

That and never skyping or video chat of any kind. Having never actually met "her", i can kind of see him not going to the hospital or to the funeral when "she" told him not to.

It basically comes down to this.

He is either in on this

or...

He is very gullible and was fooled badly and lied to make it not look that bad to his parent and friends.

we will see soon which case is true, hopefully.

[Rambos]

Here is my take:

I think the truth will be somewhere in the middle. I can see him being fooled but only for short time say 30-90 days. Once he knew he was fooled he could not come out and let people know he does not have this girl friend. Somewhere along the way instead of facing the music he let the story grow until it became larger then life. He may have left out some facts along the way and embellished a few himself.

I don't think he started this three years ago to get votes or to become this legend. I hope he does one or two things. Provides all the physical evidence to support his story that he was lied too or tells the truth he made a mistake. Either way I think he will be fine in the long run.

[sosa39rams]

Either way, hes a liar. He lied to his teammates, his school, NFL teams, talent evaluators, fans, coaches, GM's, and the public.

He better get this mess fixed quick!

[DE_Ramfan]

Young man lies then lies some more and when he gets caught he does some more lying and finally it all catches up with him. Sounds like every young person I've ever known in my life. So what, he lied. Anyone in this thread never lie? Raise your hands.

More concerning is watching him get served up at IHOP during the national championship game.

[r8rh8rmike]

The other thing that comes to mind is it's pretty strange to consider someone the love of your life but never visit her in the hospital and not go to her funeral. That just doesn't add up to me.

He claimed he missed the funeral because he had a game, and Lennay "insisted" he never miss a game (sounds like a VERY convenient excuse to me), but to never visit her in the hospital when she was dying?? That makes zero sense since he was a short plane ride away.

I think the truth will be somewhere in the middle. I can see him being fooled but only for short time say 30-90 days. Once he knew he was fooled he could not come out and let people know he does not have this girl friend. Somewhere along the way instead of facing the music he let the story grow until it became larger then life. He may have left out some facts along the way and embellished a few himself.

I think this is a plausible explanation. We'll see.

[sosa39rams]

In the entire world, there is no worse crime than using the internet to impersonate someone.

It is a crime that destroys reputations, shatters lives, and threatens to unwind the very fabric of our society.

Some might think that a hoax like this is funny, but those people simply have no soul. They are evil, and should never be condoned by civilized human beings.

This is so funny ahahaha. I seriously look idiotic with this huge smile on my face as I re-read this. Classic Bernie post.

[r8rh8rmike]

Somewhere, Lance Armstrong is loving this story.

[sosa39rams]

Somewhere, Lance Armstrong is loving this story.

Talk about God-sent timing huh?

[AvengerRam]

You know, sometimes the satire just writes itself...

And with that thought, I give you: "Kekua" (with apologies to Eric Clapton)

What did I do when I was lonely?
With nobody waiting by my side?
I've been running, hiding much too long.
You know its just my foolish pride.

Ke-ku-a!
It seems that you were just a tease!
Ke-ku-a!
A figment on my laptop, geez!
Ke-ku-a!
Turns out you only existed in my mind.

I find I'm addicted to consolation.
That's why I ran my rep into the ground.
Like a fool, I was in love with you.
Or a bogus photo, so I've found.

Ke-ku-a!
It seems that you were just a tease!
Ke-ku-a!
A figment on my laptop, geez!
Ke-ku-a!
Turns out you only existed in my mind.

I'll make the best of the situation.
And hope the scouts will find me sane.
Please don't say, they'll never find a way,
On draft day to call out my name.

Ke-ku-a!
It seems that you were just a tease!
Ke-ku-a!
A figment on my laptop, geez!
Ke-ku-a!
Turns out you only existed in my mind.

[r8rh8rmike]

This looks like it's going to be a convoluted mess for Te'o as it keeps developing. The AP is reporting he talked about his "girlfriend" twice after learning the truth:

An Associated Press review of news coverage found that the Heisman Trophy runner-up talked about his doomed love in a Web interview on Dec. 8 and again in a newspaper interview published Dec. 11. He and the university said Wednesday that he learned on Dec. 6 that it was all a hoax, that not only wasn't she dead, she wasn't real.

Te'o was in New York for the Heisman presentation on Dec. 8 and, during an interview before the ceremony that ran on the WSBT.com, the website for a South Bend TV station, Te'o said: "I mean, I don't like cancer at all. I lost both my grandparents and my girlfriend to cancer. So I've really tried to go to children's hospitals and see, you know, children."

In a story that ran in the Daily Press of Newport News, Va., on Dec. 11, Te'o recounted why he played a few days after he found out Kekau died in September, and the day she was supposedly buried.

"She made me promise, when it happened, that I would stay and play," he said.

Te'o has a tough road ahead of him before he puts this all behind him.

[detrigg]

Catfished went from movie to series to ND football.
It is not all that far fetched.

[Nick]

This looks like it's going to be a convoluted mess for Te'o as it keeps developing. The AP is reporting he talked about his "girlfriend" twice after learning the truth:

Not only that, but apparently he brought her up voluntarily during the Heisman coverage on the night of the 8th...

Chris Fowler: There were a lot of cameras around you this year, there was so much public sharing of very private moments, which shared moment will you never forget above the others?

Manti Te'o: I think I’ll never forget the time when I found out that, you know, my girlfriend passed away and the first person to run to my aid was my defensive coordinator, Coach [Bob] Diaco, and you know he said something very profound to me, he said ‘this is where your faith is tested.’ Right after that, I ran into the players’ lounge and I got on the phone with my parents – and I opened my eyes and my head coach was sitting right there. And so, you know, there are a hundred-plus people on our team and the defensive coordinator and our head coach took time to just go get one [of those players]. You know I think that was the most meaningful to me.

[AvengerRam]

Who told him ”she” died?

[Rambos]

Jason McIntyre

ESPN Knew About the Manti Te’o Hoax 10 Days Ago, But Was it in Their Best Interest to Report Anything Before the BCS Title Game?

Sources tell me that ESPN suits in Bristol at the “top of the food chain” were made aware of the Manti Te’o hoax/fake girlfriend story on January 6th – the day before the BCS Title game between Notre Dame and Alabama. The game was televised on ESPN.

That’s one day after Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick met with Te’o and his family in Miami to reveal the contents of an investigation about who was behind the hoax that created Lennay Kekua.

When I reached out to ESPN for comment about being made aware of the Te’o story on Jan. 6th, I was told they only found out about it on Jan. 10th. That is when they claim they began to investigate the story.

Sources say after ESPN received the initial tip on Jan. 6th, they began to investigate the hoax angle, but some in Bristol wondered if it would be in their best interest to air anything they had in advance of the much-anticipated Title game.

A source says ESPN was unable to verify some information prior to the game, but continued researching the hoax in the days after the game. [This morning on his ESPN radio show, Colin Cowherd said he was told of the Manti Te'o hoax story Monday.]

Ultimately, verification was the big hang up, a source says. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that ESPN is withholding revealing whatever it has while lobbying Te’o for the coveted “first interview.” Part of ESPN’s early reporting could be seen last night, when they surprisingly buried these bizarre quotes from an NFL player about Kekua.

One prevailing theory (read: speculation) connecting Te’o and ESPN: He decided after the title game that the best way to get this story out was through a media outlet, and that outlet was ESPN. Why didn’t it happen? Maybe Te’o's family (and his agent at CAA) thought this story would never come out (or he was still too embarrassed about it), even though AD Jack Swarbrick said a few times during his press conference he was certain the story would hit the media.

Yahoo’s Pat Forde has shed some light on the process:

Some administrators were pressing for a unilateral public disclosure by the school, while others wanted to let Te’o himself make the stunning news public, the source said. Notre Dame officials were in contact with Te’o's agent, Tom Condon of Creative Artists Agency, and were told the Heisman Trophy runner-up planned to release his version of events Monday. The decision was made to wait and let Te’o and CAA control the message.

So it seems Notre Dame wanted Te’o to get out in front of this to do some damage control, but the linebacker’s camp bricked, and Deadspin beat them to the punch.