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Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images
Manti Te'o warms up before Notre Dame's game against the Crimson Tide on Jan. 7.
College football star Manti Te'o says he was the victim of a cruel hoax, an elaborate scheme in which he fell for an imaginary girlfriend named Lennay Kekua and mourned her when she died of leukemia.
But he still has a lot of explaining to do.
The narrative crafted before and after the expose is full of conflicting information and holes bigger than those in Notre Dame's defensive line during its loss to Alabama.
If Te'o wants the public to believe that he was nothing more than a dupe, here are some of the questions and inconsistencies he'll need to clear up.
1. Notre Dame says that Te'o never met Kekua, that their relationship was strictly online and by phone. But the player's father gave the South Bend Tribune a detailed account of how the couple first met at a Stanford game in Palo Alto in 2009 and rendez-voused in Hawaii after becoming a couple in early 2012. And Te'o himself told ESPN that she was the "most beautiful girl I ever met."
2. Te'o called Kekua "the love of my life." His parents said they believed they would get married. Yet if Notre Dame's account is to be believed, they never met even once, or even Skyped. It beggars belief.
3. Before her leukemia "diagnosis," Kekua supposedly was nearly killed in a car accident. But published profiles of Te'o have conflicting dates -- late 2011, last January, or as recently as April. Why the discrepancies?
4. When did Kekua's fictitious death happen? Various interviews with Te'o have her succumbing to leukemia hours before his grandmother died on Sept. 12, soon after, or even days after. Assuming Te'o truly believed Kekua had passed away, wouldn't he remember the date? Or did all the reporters get the details wrong?
5. After he supposedly received the shock of his life -- a call from someone using Kekua's voice and phone number while he was at the ESPN Awards on Dec. 6 -- Teo stayed quiet for three weeks. It wasn't until Dec. 26 that he told Notre Dame officials, who then hired private investigators to look into it.
6. If Te'o was in on the deception, though, why wouldn't he just let Kekua rest in peace? Was he or someone else worried the hoax was about to come to light, prompting a fourth-quarter end-run to get ahead of the revelations?
7. Hours after Deadspin's bombshell report and Notre Dame's press conference, when it seemed that everyone could agree on one thing -- there is no Lennay Kekua -- an NFL player claimed to have actually seen her in the flesh. Arizona Cardinals fullback Regan Mauia said he met her in American Samoa in 2011, before she started romancing Te'o, and is "close" to her family.
8. Carrying out the hoax would have been a full-time job involving more than one person. Te'o claims he would spend all night on the phone with Kekua while she was in the hospital. There were purported communications from family members. Who would have had the time to orchestrate it? By the same token, how would Te'o have been able to create and maintain a social-media profile for Kekua on his own?
9. Where's the motive? A central figure in the hoax is reported to be musician Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Deadspin reported that he had contact with the woman, a former high-school classmate, whose photos were used to create Kekua's profile -- even obtaining one of the pictures from her directly. But the site also describes Tuiasosopo as a friend of Te'o, raising the question of why he would humiliate his buddy.
Timothy Burke, a reporter with Deadspin.com, talks about breaking the story that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's girlfriend, famously portrayed as an inspiration to him after her death this past season, was never real. Burke says it would take "a great deal of faith" to believe all of Te'o's account.
Related:
The legend of Manti Te'o just got more complicated
From Milli Vanilli to Balloon Boy: The greatest hoaxes in American history
Reporter: Believing Manti Te'o makes a great deal of faith
Leave a Comment:
The best players in the most popular sport are targets. I found a true story called HARD WIRED on
Amazon that discusses that struggle for college football players on all levels.
Keep on spinnin.' Nobody's buying that line. Manti Te'o orchestrated this fraud with the help of others, at minimum his dad and friend, but probably also with an agent and/or PR dude in the background. It didn't win him the Heisman, and he'll never get an endorsement contract. Whoever thought of this, great idea!
Notre Dame needs to stop commenting on this story. They shouldn't support him or condemn him, but just back off with hands raised and stare at the spectacle like everyone else.
Ever seen the docu-movie Catfish and the MTV series Catfish, the TV series??? Its real easy to be duped by people you meet online.
Te'o said he met her, several times. His dad said Te'o met her. His dad and brother claimed to have talked to the girl. Didn't you read the article? Scroll up.
This entire story is ridiculous!! What is he doing? What is the point to all this? Is he hiding the fact that he might be gay? Is he just a compulsive liar that is now caught up in all his BS? Or is this just some horribly exaggerated version of a simple relationship that didn't last long?
This is so messed up. What do we believe?
This is a 21 year old kid... Leave him alone already! Why do we think that everything that happens is our business and we HAVE to know all the sordid details?! It doesn't matter one bit to me whether he knew or not, or whether she even existed or not. Again, he's a 21 year old kid. I've had two of em (so far) and they do stupid things.
Lets focus on something important, like how 500 kids a year (mostly black) get killed by guns in Chicago and no one seems to care, but when 20 white kids in Conn get killed, all of a sudden we must act and act now. Or what being over $16 trillion in debt means to our country long term. Things like this are MUCH more worthy of our time than a college football player's make believe girlfriend.
This story just doesn't make sense. How can you fall in love with someone you've never met, whose parents you've never met? If that person you love is deathly ill, why wouldn't you hop a flight to see her at the hospital? To visit her grave?
This young lady appears to have been created to serve as a beard. Did Te'o have other girlfriends?
What's sad is that someone would feel the need to create a fictitious girlfriend to mask one's sexuality, if this is indeed the case.
What's also alarming is how your online presence can be tracked into eternity.
The most important questions that need to be answered - Is Manti Te'o as big an idiot as he appears to be ? Does he REALLY possess the mental capacity to be in college?
It would seem to me that you'd have to be really desperate, borderline stupid and practically a troll to be willing to date someone soley online/over the phone for a year.
I think Te'o just told us a lot more about himself than he ever intended to.
So, my question is, back when he told everyone his girlfriend died - did he also tell everyone at that time that he never actually met his girlfriend, and only dated her online and over the phone?
Because im going to bet he did not.
If she was the love of is life he would have attended her funeral. He didn't because he was making the whole thing up.
There is a bigger story here that will appeal to the mega-liberals who are coming here to comment but don't think the story should be discussed.. the failure of the press to do the very minimum of fact checking. I've said for years, that you can post anything to the AP, and everyone's in a race to be the first. Well, maybe that needs to change and change, significantly.
Still, Manti Te'o, 21 or not, gay or not, created this huge, elaborate lie. He lied directly to a leukemia victim and her family in the form of a letter, complete with his "girlfriend's" sob story. He needs to come clean and do some serious self-examination, and then people will move on.
Bruce, at what age does one stop being 'a kid'? Te'o brought this upon himself. HE made this girl into an issue. HIS carefully crafted hoax fell apart and we should just ignore that it ever happened? Let the poor 'kid' be?
Also, people can read, care about, and comment about more than one thing. "YOU CAN'T CARE ABOUT THIS - THERE ARE OTHER STORIES!"... That's a ridiculous position. One can care about Chicago youths being killed, a massacre in Connecticut, AND a sports hoax.
Notre Dame is not going to be able to save this kid... Sooner than later, he will need to come out and comment to the public about this ridiculousness.
This is one of the dumbest irrelevant stories I've ever heard. I cannot believe this garbage is receiving so much attention and is the lead story on here. Unfreaking real USA!
I bet a story will come out soon that this was all a sociology/psychology "experiment" for someone's doctoral thesis.
Kaleb-omg
Bruce, at what age does one stop being 'a kid'?
-----------------excellent question, one I ask myself everytime I hear an announcer use the term to describe a 21 or 22 year old player. Are 18 or 19 year old soldiers "kids"? I'd say no.
My comment though is this: it must be a real slow news day to have this "story" as thbe headline on NBC's home page.
Can't wait to hear the trash talk he'll be getting in the NFL over this.
NBC how about putting up some real news Like Obama taking out right away or did Obama tell you not to run anythin on gun control.
A sad hoax to create a legacy and draw attention?
I blame Obama.
Just because it's not important to you doesn't mean it's not news. So much was made of his endurance throughout heartbreak during the season that people invested themselves in supporting him. It's really no less news than Lance Armstrong. I'm not saying it's earth-shattering or relevant for the betterment of society, but it is news.
And imwhitewolf, you are totally and completely right. I'm so tired of "childhood" going into the twenties. No wonder adults act like kids, they're getting free passes until they're out of college or beyond.
"Jacob007
This is one of the dumbest irrelevant stories I've ever heard. I cannot believe this garbage is receiving so much attention and is the lead story on here. Unfreaking real USA!"
Yeah it's dumb and irrelevant that you read it and commented on it. So who's really dumb?
"Bob James-7423676
NBC how about putting up some real news Like Obama taking out right away or did Obama tell you not to run anythin on gun control."
Poor gun nut I'm so sorry you can't buy and assault rifle, maybe. Go buy a 50 cal sniper rifle that should keep you happy for awhile. BTW an Assault rifle ban was put in place 15 years ago (yes it expired which is why you can buy them again). Did the government come and get the it if you already had one when that ban was enacted? Did they come get all your other guns? What's that, no? Poor gun nut so in love with your guns you can't even be logical.
I'm betting you will even be able to buy an Assault rifle if you fill out the correct ATF forms, just like you can today for fully automatic machine guns. Perhaps you're worried you won't be able to pass the physiological or back ground checks that have you worried??
A girlfriend he never met?
I've had female penpals but they never rose to the level of "girlfriend" - not even female acquaintance since I never met them.
Teo seems like the kind of person who would want a refund on his credit card charges to the 900 line when he finds out his "girlfriend" is actually a guy with an effeminate voice.
My opinion is that this is nothing more than a bunch of BILL$H!T dreamed up by ND and Teo to drum up sympathy and give the rest of the flagging ND football program a goal because they KNEW they were going to get their @$$E$ kicked in the "big" game. ND didn't deserve to be rated as high as they were and as Bryant Gumble said of BYU many years ago - they only played agaiinst "Bo Diddley Tech" which allowed for an undefeated season. Teo will go the same way as Ty and Coy Detmer? Who, you say? See what I mean.
Nobody gives a darn how many gang thugs get killed in Chicago. Granted their are innocent people who get caught up in the violence but for the most part it is gang members shooting other gang members. Under age or not, you live by the gang, you will eventually die by the gang. That type of social disease tends to remedy itself over time. A dead thug is one who will harm nobody else!
You are delusional and a bit racist yourself if you think that the Newtown outrage was all about race.
Bruce - This "kid" and his cohorts created this lie to garner headlines, sympathy and support. There was a lot at stake. For example, the Heisman Trophy, a big time, lucrative contract with the pros, etc. No one can be so naive and stupid as to not begin to smell a rat during the course of corresponding with and "falling in love" with someone on-line during such an extended "relationship". If he is, then he doesn't have the mental capacity to be in the local community college, much less a well known school like Notre Dame. Creating these sympathetic backgrounds is a major activity in all reality shows such as American Idol, America's Got Talent, etc. We never hear of someone on stage who had a happy, normal, well-adjusted Norman Rockwell childhood. They all have adversity of some kind...a father who left the family without support when the contestant was 2 years old, a family who was or is homeless, a dying grandmother, etc.
BTW, it isn't that no one cares that 500 kids are murdered in Chicago every year. It's that the social culture in those Chicago neighborhoods is based on gangs, drugs and other crimes. As long as the people living there won't do anything about it, it's difficult for law enforcement to accomplish much. People seem to care more about the 20 kids killed in Connecticut because that was a carefully planned mass murder orchestrated by a lunatic. The Chicago murders are not mass murders of that magnitude and they are orchestrated by gangs wishing to protect their turf.
Yeah, its a tough cross to bear being a superstar player for a major college; I really feel sorry for those guys.
Of course, this particular star has an even heavier cross to bear when you consider he has to go through life as a lying POS.
Scales-one more thing to ad. Bruce and his ilk have plenty of other, much more relevant places to state their political views online. If he's not interested in this rather remarkable story, he has the option of getting off this thread. This is America, baby!
First you chide everyone to quite printing crap before they do fact checking, and then you proceed to spout your opinion as if you know what happened and why. At this point, I don't think anyone really knows for sure what happened, yet everyone is sure they know because they have an opinion on it. I don't know if he was duped or if he was the duper, and until more comes out, at least I am honest enough to say I DON'T KNOW. And I don't think anyone does (yet). Lay off him, let the investigation continue, and then maybe there will be more answers.
How many hoaxes does the public have to fall for before they start to catch on? America needs to stop swimming in that river in Egypt. Yes, you've been lied to. Another selfish person who thinks they can cheat at your expess. The truth is that Te'o lied, thought it would get him the heisman, and got found out. Sure, there will be some sad sob story, but the fact of the matter is you did what you did, and need to stop trying to cover it up. Of course the media is going to try and make him look as innocent as possible. It doesn't line up because the story is concocted. You people with guilt complexes need to realize you're being taken advantage of.
Story does not work on so many levels... when she died... what does he do? does he try to go to funeral? As things are going along, is he not checking anything? I just do not believe he is not involved if not the central figure in the scam. But then again he is a Jock and now a joke.
Help I have just been Te-o'd too funny................ what a dunce.!
This whole thing is just bizarre. Neither side of this story makes any sense at all.
Who cares. What makes this so newsworthy that it takes up a major portion of the NBCNews front page. I think we have more important matters to discuss: Debt Ceiling crisis, Sequester, Unemployment etc...
So...the media can investigate when they want to. They've dug deep into this guys life, and pulled up all manner of facts...but who cares?!!! If they would only put forth half the effort into something of true relevance...that would be something, wouldn't it?
(1) he either figured out earl on it was a hoax and for publicity reasons kept it going all of these years..
or
(2) it's all fabricated for some reason- publicity or to protect a relationship (male relationship) he did not want out in public.
Either way he's got some splaining to do....cause nothing adds up and it's clearly a lie one way or the other. Even members of congress aren't this dumb and naive...
Who cares what his personal life is?
Sounds like something the liberals would be involved in
bonkie- i suspect that 98% of those out there can care less about his personal life or his sexuality (i certain can care less) BUT what most people do not understand is when you throw yourself out there (publicly) your personal life is exposed. if fraud/lies/misleading is suspected and further proven you're going down. back in the day, before the internet, this would have been page 10 news but with the advent of the internet (and internet media outlets such as twitter, facebook, etc) the rules have changed. People do not like to be lied to or taken for dummies.....
This is the front-page story, WHY?????
Even the Lance Armstrong confession thing should be above this one in the headlines.
Anything to keep his name in the paper and the media. Just like Tebow using god and religion to keep people interested in his sorry and pathetic asz as well.
Anthony Wiener did the same. Claimed someone hacked his account and posted fake pics of him.
None of these people have any shame. It's all about the money, and whatever gimmic they can use to make more of it, a hoax, god, religion or a hacker, they will do it, because they know the sheeple will fall for all this b/s hook, line and sinker, and they are laughing their azzes off all the way to the bank with your money.
To bad the American sheeple are too dumb to realize that they have been played/fooled by these con artists.
well i guess sports athletes have come to an all time low - "Armstrong" now "Manti Te'o"......WTF.....
i will tell you one thing...everyday the news is completely filled with WTF
You know what? This isn't news. Quite frankly, who cares? What this man does on his own time is his business. To make it a media spectacle because he plays on a college football team is pointless. Is this deflection from all the bad going on in Washington? Sheesh!
Just curious... is a reality show in the works?
It's deplorable that we've sunk to the level of reporting this schlock as news.
Who in the sane World would give a flip?!?
Wow is it really such a slow news day that this needs to be the top headline all day long? Since when is it news that a young person makes up a story to get attention. Lonely people on the internet do it all the time. Should this guy be an exception simply because he plays football for ND and isn't some fat, nerdy chick in a dark room with a fake Facebook profile?
Can I get a "Who cares?"
Yeah, why is he such a big jerk, and secondly, why is the media even reporting on this stupid sh_t?
@Never Stop Asking Questions: You care. You clicked on the link. You read the article. You read a whole bunch of replies. You clicked Reply. You typed a reply. He hit "Post Comment." You care.
@RedskinCrazy "I think we have more important matters to discuss: Debt Ceiling crisis, Sequester, Unemployment etc..."
Oops... Sorry... Most of us have the ability to read about, care about, and comment about multiple issues. Even some issues that some people may consider trivial. Our collective bad for clicking on this article, reading it, and caring enough to comment....... Oh wait... You did the same thing? Oh, ok... I don't feel so bad then.
@Referee
"Who in the sane World would give a flip?!?"
..... Better question: Who in the sane world would take the time to click on an article, scroll to the comments, and post a "who cares?" comment on a story they care nothing about? What an insane waste of time!
Kaleb there are a lot of articles where people comment "why is this news?" but I think this story wins the prize.
What's more insane...wasting hours if not days of time collectively reporting on some college kid's odd love life in every news outlet, or wasting a few seconds to point out the media is covering worthless crap and should focus on something newsworthy?
I'm just guessing : but it sounds like a good Catholic in a prestigious football position hiding that he may be gay. We all know how unforgiving and judgemental we all are about various issues.
By the way ;NOT SHOPPING AT WHOLE FOODS ANYMORE................
The big question is: Who cares? This is clearly just a ruse by Obama's media to divert attention away from Obama's continued usurpation of the Constitution and the destruction of America.
the poor kid is obviously paranoid and disillusioned about his life as so many people that think that a Harvard Law student doesn't understand the Constitution and the ability to make the United States a better blace to live.
This guy is clearly delusional, as delusional as VICTORIA-1632092, who seems to want to bring right wingnut stupidity into any conversation. First thing I asked, was what the heck is he smoking?
He's not a kid. He's a grown man. There are 18 year olds, younger t han this buffoon, fighting for their country, but you want to make it sound like he's practically a child, unable to think clearly for himself?? He lied to everybody; he said he'd met her.
New details have emerged....looks like a friend (Ronaiah Tuiasosopocame) came up with this story and Manti Te'o went along with it. ND is in damage control mode ...and for now, will stay by their man. As always..that will change if it appears to negatively effect the school's reputation and ability to make $$$.
"Friends and relatives of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo told Deadspin.com that they believe Tuiasosopo created Kekua. A friend of Tuiasosopo told Deadspin he was "80% sure" that Te'o was a willing participant of the hoax and did so with publicity in mind. According to the Deadspin report, Te'o and Tuiasosopo have been in contact via Twitter, including exchanging several messages last summer."
OK, time for the truth: Te'o is a hologram and doesn't really exist. Notre Dame made him up. But the girlfriend is real.
Not much of a story. He or his father created a story to get votes from the Heisman commitee. The same way that Joe Theisman changed the pronunciation of his name from theeseman to thighsman. Neither one won the Heisman.
Add him to the list of cheats and liers.
What a bunch of BS. Why do you even write anything about these lies??? Disregard crap like this.
First his buddy Tuiasosopo pulls the catfish on other athletes, then he pulls it on Manti, with Manti's complicity, to boost Manti's stock--- and then when the story spins out of control and they can't put the genie back in the bottle thanks to whoever tipped Deadspin, they now play the victim card to try to save Manti-- and Notre Dame is too invested at this point to see the truth, so they double down and back Manti.
By the way, nice tears Jack. But just think how many more you'll be crying when you lose your job over this.
Next up, expect interview with Tuiasosopo (or ducking of interview), followed by production of comely Samoan gal who may have played Kekua in earlier version of scam, meeting Regan Mauia and other prospects. Maybe Brent Musberger can interview her, after which she can have her own show.
He is NO, Johnny Football.
There are way too many things that don't make sense and too many inconsistencies. He was definitely in on it just a question of to what extent. Nothing more than a publicity stunt...and guess what? It worked! The Alabama game exposed that he really isn't the caliber of player everyone thought he was, and now this has exposed that he really isn't the person everyone thought it was. Too bad he couldn't keep this from breaking until after the draft.
Unless somebody profited from all this, who cares. The guy is a football player, does he do that well? If so then what difference does all this make?
You don't want someone with mental issues on your team.
Yeah. Deceiving the National Media and the public while creating a "narrative" that was sold to fans of college football of a true football warrior who overcame both the death of his girlfriend and his grandmother(days apart) is no big deal. What are you smoking? What this does is put suspicion on any other player that experiences this type of loss moving forward. In other words, it increases our cynicism as a society.
@RandogM, I respectfully suggest it's about time America's cynicism level increased. Practically everything we see/hear/experience has someone's profit motive behind it, including the news story above. Everyone here seems to acknowledge Notre Dame is in "damage control" mode, but why? Because they're afraid bad publicity will cost them MONEY.
That's the exact same reason Penn State administration ignored the suffering of dozens of boys for years. It's the same reason Lance Armstrong became an world-champion professional liar.
Sports and Hollywood "heroes" are anything but. You want a real hero? Norman Borlaug was personally responsible for over a billion people going to bed tonight with food in their stomachs, and never sought money or publicity. That's a hero.
What America needs most is maturity and perspective. Given that, appropriate levels of cynicism follow automatically.
Judging from the BCS National Championship game, no, he doesn't do that well either...
UDonnoBro - He profited from it - by winning awards that may have gone to other players without his sob story. A dead grandmother isn't enough for the sympathy vote. But a dead grandmother AND girlfriend in 24 hours - AND he goes on and plays with no problem......
Leave Penn State out of it. NOTHING has been proven yet. As for Lance ....how far down the placement list would you have to go before finding someone who DIDN'T dope????
He will still be able to play NFL football better than most other players. He will have to do it for a lot less money than players with his skill, who also have good character. What a great deal for the team he signs with - he will have to play his heart out to "prove himself", at a heavily discounted salary.
Have they scheduled the Oprah interview yet?
"Leave Penn State out of it. NOTHING has been proven yet. As for Lance ....how far down the placement list would you have to go before finding someone who DIDN'T dope????"
While you're busy making excuses, are there any other crimes against Humanity you'd like to provide justification for?
Keith, I agree with you. People are upset at this guy because they looked up to him, think he's some role model, whatever. But why? He's just a football player - your garbage pickup guy demands more respect, just try getting along without him! Stop putting these guys on a pedestal just because they kick a ball around. These aren't role models or heroes, they're just guys playing a game. Stop paying attention to them outside of how well they play, and you won't have these problems with becoming disillusioned with them as human beings.
Answer to question #6: Yes, it is the ONLY thing that makes sense there. This kid just loved the adulation and attention and, as most young people think, that he could game the system as long as he wished. Now he's circling the drain... too bad he couldn't keep his ego in check.
FREAKY
STUPID FOOTBALL PLAYER
LIAR!
YOUR NFL STOCK JUST DROPPED!
AGAIN!
I'd be shocked if this kid goes first round. I'm thinking middle of 2nd to 3rd. And that was from just watching the NCG against AL.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave....
I'm from MO and I must be shown why I should believe this girl ever existed. Having dated many women (never on-line), how any red blooded American boy doesn't have to at least meet and hopefully consumate the relationship is beyond my belief. He would have to be one of the most stupid person I've ever heard of. I think he's in on the hoax. Boy, is he dumb. Now, I bet he'll drag his family and school into this. His parents can be very proud of his education and football accomplishments, but, they raised a dumbass.
Doesn't he claim to be Mormon? If so, there are severe consequences for premarital sex. "Consummating the relationship" was not a real option — assuming the girl actually existed.
I do agree, though, and language excepted, that "he would have to be one of the most stupid person I've ever heard of." To think you could get away with this is moronic. To think that he DID get away with this for 3+ months is incredible. Goes to show you — in this country, fame is more important than anything. That phony drama (reality shows!) is the leash that drags the American dog. After Obama finishes with gun legislation, I wish we'd work on the Stupidity issue.
Mormons not believing in premarital sex? What they preach and what they practice are very different. They don't smoke and they don't drink (within sight of a temple) but two out of three ain't bad. Most of them could beat a quarter to the floor their heels are so round.
He's a little old for imaginary friends.
He's gay - he created a ficticieous girlfriend to put the gay rumors back in the closet (pun)
Gay or not, that doesn't excuse him from killing off a fake girlfriend in the public eye and writing a letter to a real leukemia victim to commiserate about his late "girlfriend's" fate. Whatever his sexual preference, he's a bad, bad person.
I agree Patse, he's gay so he invented the story then got in so deep he had to kill her off. I worked with a guy in his 50's that wasn't married. He told everyone that he had been married for 14 years and had a son. Supposedly his wife and son were killed in a car accident in 1984.
By pure accident one of my co-workers meet his brother and mentioned how tragic it was that his brother had his family killed in a car accident. Then it all came out, the 2nd brother says " WHAT?, he's never been married, he's gay"
he does look a bit light in the loafers.
Doesn't look good for him
On another note:
How do you make Notre Dame eggs?
Put them in a bigger bowl than they should be in and beat them for three hours.
Question # 10.
Is his Grandmother REALLY REAlly really dead?
Maybe he is trying to cover that he is gay by making up this BS
Who cares...do we not have bigger and more important things to spend our time on? Wars, REAL crime, hungry children in the world! OK...another "star" tells lies...BIG SURPRISE!!
You are free to go find those bigger issues. We did not bring you here to read and comment on this article. There are people interested in it and have things to say.
Since you don't care, find the door.
I see you're taking a few minutes away from fighting wars, real crime, and feeding hungry children to read and comment on the article. How do you do it all?
Little bit harsh, don't you think?
Another LANCE ARMSTRONG in the makin BUSTED.. these Lying cheats want to be famous so badly they will do anything to get the empathy and sympathy of their fans..
Manti Te'o social media outles..Twitter.. facebook. cell phone texts and calls..etc., will prove he was very aware of this hoax to fraud his way into the NFL..
Why would he make up a girl to be his dying girlfriend with cancer that didn't exist? Could he be in the closet? Gay?
The only logical reason anyone would make up such a bunch of BS, would be to hide the fact they are gay.
He has to hide that from his family, his religion (Mormon), his college (Catholic), and all the money that's coming to him.
Hiding that he was gay would be the BEST outcome -- because people would understand it. Otherwise, his many lies and versions of his lies mean he's either a pathetic liar or mentally ill.
wait, whats going on. I understand that this story is about a football player bing duped. But why is it such big news? Was there a scam or scandal? Did someone lose millions of dollars? Go to jail, get killed? No?
With that out of the way. some people do actually do this. I dont know how or why, but they will spend enormous amounts of time, (days/months/more) teasing you and such, And for no reason, They never want to meet...Ever. I feel sorry for him if its true..
Better do some more reading, Richard. No football player was duped. The football player was a lying POS that tried to dup others for his personal gain.
Once again, Notre Dame's football team and players are getting more press than they deserve. Overated all year long. If this would have come out during the season, I guaranty the heisman voting would have been closer between Manziel and Klein.
Twice in one week, the media hyping another insignificant story about a sports figure (remember the Lance Armstrong world news event - when was that? - OH YEAH, YESTERDAY!) to the , oh, 7 BILLION OF US who couldn't care less. Hey, somebody i know won a free lunch at the local teriyaki joint - RAISE THE FRIGGIN' ROOF!
Lance who?
Manti is a piece of work. Deception and lies to his teammates, coach, the University, ND alumni, friends, media, and the public.
I wonder when he thought this was a really serious problem. THEN kept up the lies and deception.
When the hype of this story passes in the media... the Internet will continue to remind us. It won't just go away.
Manti just needs to man up and drop the hoax bull@!$%#.
Here's question number 10 --- Who cares?
Probably anyone who has been duped or would come in contact with him. What do you think...?
Who cares. Finally, a rational comment on this non-story! I never heard of this guy. I do NOT want to hear any more about this guy. It would be outstanding if the space it takes up on this site would be devoted to something far more useful like cute animal pictures.
I agree. The only thing "baffling" about this story is it exists in the first place.
Do you complain about complaining? You 3 seem to care.
An the tenth question is: how on earth did not one single sports journalist writing or talking about this story ever do even a scrap of just general, non-invasive background checking when this guy first told this story? I don't follow football and even I can remember hearing it and being like "wow, that's vague and weird how they're reporting that..."
NO ONE spoke to any of this girl's family, friends, coworkers to get a "he was a very loyal boyfriend" quote, no one made a simple note of the hospital she was at or even what kind of leukemia she had or any just basic, basic background stuff any reporter would add? I mean, we all say "no one would lie about that kind of thing"....but just for the sake of a complete story, all that info should have been included at least by SOMEONE....Geesh, embarrassing.
bd2205-that was the most intelligent comment I've seen on this story. I found it kind of odd while watching his interviews after games that there was never an interview with her family, frends, or anything beyond just Teo telling us his girl friend had died. I think most of us assumed from the way the story was reported that she and Teo had been "dating" in the traditional sense, too. Incredibly irresponsibe "journalism"; ESPN and NBC were primarily concerned about their ND football ratings.
this is the most comical story i've read in a while, what a nut. he's digging himself a deeper hole every time he opens his mouth.
So far, the only one of these I have a problem reconciling is the father's statement that he'd met the girl in person. I'll err on the side of believing Te'o was a victim for now.
Evidently the author hasn't watched the documentary or series Catfish much. The type of person who perpetrates these elaborate hoaxes is precisely the type of person who will dedicate tons of time to it and to making it elaborate. Some of these people not only create one fake profile, they'll create a whole network of equally fake friends and family around that original profile so that there are numerous interactions and dynamics possible. My suspicion, but certainly not proven, is that the Catfish in this case was Tuiasosopo. Perhaps he had a crush on his friend Te'o but knew his feelings wouldn't be reciprocated, so he created a fake identity so he could engage in a 24X7 fantasy that he was loved by Te'o, complete with texts and phone calls from his object of obsession. Things like this do happen and have been well documented on the series. As for Te'o's naivete, please consider that many Mormon teens don't date in the same way that other teens do. Some don't date at all before age 16, and in some families passionate physical contact is frowned on. I met some evangelical Christian guys in college who had a similar ethic about dating; to them, I can see where an online relationship with a really hot-looking girl might seem very appealing, even subconsciously. If it turns out that Te'o was the victim of a messed up guy who had a crush on him, then I feel very bad for him. Also, did Regan Mauia also know Tuiasosopo? Is it possible that Tuiasosopo pulled the same stunt once before? Some 'catfish' profiled on the show admit to having deceived as many as 100 people in their attempts to get their emotional needs met.
Te'o said he sent white roses to the girl's funeral. Exactly where did he send them? Didn't 1-800-flowers tell him, "Hey, there's no such funeral?" HE WAS NOT DUPED!! HE LIED!!
You send flowers to an address, numbnuts. Not directly to a funeral.
In two words, WHO CARES? This story deserves top of the page headlines? Really?
Apparently, many people. If you don't care, why comment at all? Why even read the article?
I'm still working on the math of why the game was billed a championship game and not a home coming game for Alabama where you pick a sure winner for the home crowd... maybe the story is meant to draw attention away from how schools get into the big buck games.
The story is odd and I would like to know the final outcome but I am not wasting any time in my day speculating. I will wait a few months and look for the answers then. Now...back to my life.