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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 16, 2013 18:25:39 GMT -5
Another black eye in the sports world. Manti Te'o apparently doesn't have or even had a girlfriend who died of leukemia! Just come clean, the cover up is always messy. espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8851033/story-manti-teo-girlfriend-death-apparently-hoaxSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame says a story about Manti Te'o's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped the Fighting Irish get to the Discover BCS National Championship game, turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the linebacker. The university issued a news release Wednesday after Deadspin.com reported it could find no record of Lennay Kekua existing. The university says that Notre Dame coaches were informed by Te'o and his parents on Dec. 26 that Te'o had been the victim of what appeared to be a hoax. Someone using a fictitious name "apparently ingratiated herself" with Te'o, the school said, then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had died of leukemia. The university said "the proper authorities" are investigating a "very cruel deception." On Sept. 12, Te'o learned that his 72-year-old grandmother, Annette Santiago, had died. Te'o said he was told just six hours later that Kekua, had lost her battle with leukemia. Following Notre Dame's 20-3 win over Michigan State on Sept. 15, Teo said: "My family and my girlfriend's family have received so much love and support from the Notre Dame family," Te'o said. "Michigan State fans showed some love. And it goes to show that people understand that football is just a game, and it's a game that we play, and we have fun doing it But at the end of the day what matters is the people who are around you, and family. I appreciate all the love and support that everybody's given my family and my girlfriend's family." He was asked again about his girlfriend on Jan. 3 prior to the BCS title game. He said: "This team is very special to me, and the guys on it have always been there for me, through the good times and the bad times. I rarely have a quiet time to myself because I always have somebody calling me, asking, do you want to go to the movies. Coach is always calling me asking me, 'Are you OK? Do you need anything?' " According to the Deadspin report, Te'o and Tuiasosopo have been in contact via Twitter, including exchanging several friendly messages last summer. A Notre Dame source told ESPN that Te'o was vetted heavily when the school learned in December that Kekua was a hoax, and said he believes Te'o was not involved. But a friend of Tuiasosopo told Deadspin he was quote "80 percent sure" that Te'o participated and did so with publicity in mind. According to Deadspin, the only photos that have been found online that identified Kekua, are actually pictures of another 22-year-old woman. That woman, who was not named in the report, told Deadspin one of those photos likely was shared by her former high school classmate named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Friends and relatives of Tuiasosopo told Deadspin they believe he created Lennay Kekua. Kekua does not have a death certificate, Deadspin.com reported. Stanford, where she reportedly went to school, has no record of anybody by that name. Te'o issued a statement Tuesday afternoon: "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." Te'o is currently training in preparation for the NFL draft at the IMG Institute in Bradenton, Fla. He is No. 8 on Mel Kiper's latest draft board.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2013 21:56:43 GMT -5
All the radio and TV guys have been all over this story this afternoon. It really is quite remarkable. The way I see it there can really only be two scenarios here.
1. Te'o knew about it and was in on it, or 2. Te'o is the dumbest man on the planet.
All the stories surrounding this and the timelines being laid out simply don't add up right. In the ND press conference tonight, they said that Te'o has known this "girl" for 3 years, and yet they never got together face to face? I call shenanigans.
The most amazing part of this story is how someone who was heralded as a great leader and champion of character in college sports, is now going to be the butt of a lot of jokes. This is very much a kin to the fall of Paterno, or more recently, Lance Armstrong. It is hard to believe in the merits of anyone when stuff like this happens.
Incredible!
P.S. Being an A&M fan is so much sweeter today! HeisManziel!
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 16, 2013 23:07:38 GMT -5
All the radio and TV guys have been all over this story this afternoon. It really is quite remarkable. The way I see it there can really only be two scenarios here. 1. Te'o knew about it and was in on it, or 2. Te'o is the dumbest man on the planet. All the stories surrounding this and the timelines being laid out simply don't add up right. In the ND press conference tonight, they said that Te'o has known this "girl" for 3 years, and yet they never got together face to face? I call shenanigans. The most amazing part of this story is how someone who was heralded as a great leader and champion of character in college sports, is now going to be the butt of a lot of jokes. This is very much a kin to the fall of Paterno, or more recently, Lance Armstrong. It is hard to believe in the merits of anyone when stuff like this happens. Incredible! P.S. Being an A&M fan is so much sweeter today! HeisManziel! This will end badly for Te'o and Notre Dame who are trying to defend him. I fully expect more journalists to dig up dirt on Te'o that will wreck the Te'o/Notre Dame time line of events. No Skype or Facetime? Just a few photos online? They never met in 3 years? This story stinks to hell and back. First Rudy was offsides against Georgia Tech and now this?!
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Post by NYR on Jan 17, 2013 1:13:49 GMT -5
still a better love story than twilight.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 2:02:57 GMT -5
Madness. What a weird and wild world we live in.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 9:46:26 GMT -5
still a better love story than twilight. Good one.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 10:15:40 GMT -5
I am just so surprised Jack Swarbrick would back Manti 100% before he spoke to the media himself. More details will emerge. Very foolish for Notre Dame to go all in backing Teo. So many parts of this story do not make sense and the Teo family had no problem exploiting these "facts" to benefit their Heisman campaign.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 11:01:21 GMT -5
I am just so surprised Jack Swarbrick would back Manti 100% before he spoke to the media himself. More details will emerge. Very foolish for Notre Dame to go all in backing Teo. So many parts of this story do not make sense and the Teo family had no problem exploiting these "facts" to benefit their Heisman campaign. Totally agree. ND just got caught with their pants down. ND has had 3 full weeks to work this story . . . any chance that they got to the people involved, made a deal, and now they splash this "hoax" BS around? Where is Tuiasosopo? Where is this phone chick at? ND and Te'o are screwed here.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 12:06:33 GMT -5
I am just so surprised Jack Swarbrick would back Manti 100% before he spoke to the media himself. More details will emerge. Very foolish for Notre Dame to go all in backing Teo. So many parts of this story do not make sense and the Teo family had no problem exploiting these "facts" to benefit their Heisman campaign. Totally agree. ND just got caught with their pants down. ND has had 3 full weeks to work this story . . . any chance that they got to the people involved, made a deal, and now they splash this "hoax" BS around? Where is Tuiasosopo? Where is this phone chick at? ND and Te'o are screwed here. ESPN keeps playing the Teo interview from October of him describing her beauty. His parents are quoted as saying his "girlfriend" would visit Teo all the time in Hawaii on school breaks and that they had met her! Something just doesn't add up. She got into a car accident.....he didnt visit her. She had cancer....he never visited her. She died...he didnt go to the funeral. That all seems wild and crazy in my eyes. How do you "fall in love" with screen name and email account for over 3 years. I'm calling bullshit. ESPN better ask tough questions during this upcoming Teo interview. No layups please. Hard hitting questions.
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Post by webm@ster on Jan 17, 2013 12:26:35 GMT -5
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 12:30:57 GMT -5
I get that this how Teo and Notre Dame are going to spin this for public relations reasons to save face but lets not forget Deadspin is accusing Teo of also being involved in this hoax to raise his Heisman candidacy. This is going to get far more interesting as the days pass.
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Post by spaneli on Jan 17, 2013 13:27:18 GMT -5
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 13:33:34 GMT -5
The plot thickens! I can't wait for Act II of this soap opera...aka...ESPN's Manti Te'o interview.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 14:27:42 GMT -5
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 14:34:14 GMT -5
is it possible--just possible--that te'o made this whole story up to mask the fact that he's gay? Funny you mention that. 6-7 people have called WFAN' s Mike Francesa claiming that very same fact. He of course dismissed it 100%. Manti needs to surface in the flesh and start to do some explaining.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2013 19:40:29 GMT -5
That player never said he was duped like Teo. Hell, he hasn't even claimed that it is the same chick. Apparently her name is not uncommon in Samoan circles. This whole story reeks of epic cover-up of the truth. Can't wait to see this unfold over the next few weeks.
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Post by Let It Bleed on Jan 17, 2013 19:55:31 GMT -5
Mike Golic of Mike and Mike in the Morning whose sons played football at Notre Dame with Te'o said Te'o doesn't really hangout with other players and is really private. he probably invented the girlfriend to not appear different, which is sad. people are gay, so what. life's short, enjoy it.
God bless.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 17, 2013 20:50:58 GMT -5
That player never said he was duped like Teo. Hell, he hasn't even claimed that it is the same chick. Apparently her name is not uncommon in Samoan circles. This whole story reeks of epic cover-up of the truth. Can't wait to see this unfold over the next few weeks. I think Deadspin, Notre Dame and their private detectives all established this girl never existed. Its pretty wild that this NFL guy said he met her. You are probably right, maybe its a common name. Who knows. However the credibility of the Cardinals guy is called into question because he is friends with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who helped invent this hoax. This is one big bowl of wrong to say the least. This is Sports Illustrated's transcripts of their interview with Te'o. sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/#all
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Post by spaneli on Jan 18, 2013 16:26:49 GMT -5
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 18, 2013 16:46:47 GMT -5
It is time for Mr. Te'o to speak and tell his story finally in a room full of reporters. I wouldn't be surprised if people start suspecting he paid Tuiasosopo off to take the fall 100%.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2013 23:47:01 GMT -5
It is time for Mr. Te'o to speak and tell his story finally in a room full of reporters. I wouldn't be surprised if people start suspecting he paid Tuiasosopo off to take the fall 100%. More like ND paid off Tuiasosopo to cover their tails after the media blitz they allowed over Te'o. If Te'o would come out and at least own it that he is stupid and was duped, then alot of people would move on. But the man sits silent.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 19, 2013 0:16:04 GMT -5
It is time for Mr. Te'o to speak and tell his story finally in a room full of reporters. I wouldn't be surprised if people start suspecting he paid Tuiasosopo off to take the fall 100%. More like ND paid off Tuiasosopo to cover their tails after the media blitz they allowed over Te'o. If Te'o would come out and at least own it that he is stupid and was duped, then alot of people would move on. But the man sits silent. So apparently Te'o did an "off-camera" interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap with his lawyer present. Details on tonight's Sportscenter. Face the music like a man Te'o!
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Post by spaneli on Jan 19, 2013 1:17:18 GMT -5
I don't think he will. Let's be real: if he doesn't talk he'll go top 10 for sure, whereas if he does, he may say something that keeps him from doing so.
For T'eo, this is the rest of his life we're talking about, millions of dollars, maybe even a shattered NFL dream. Personally, this wouldn't be a decision that I would handle lightly. And I wouldn't talk to reporters either. He has everything to lose in my opinion, if he does. Everything. I'm not arguing whether it's right or wrong. But in his situation, he has more to gain by staying quiet, unfortunately. He's in a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't situation and as of the moment....the damned if he doesn't looks a lot more attractive.
I personally believe that he was truly duped and was embarrassed when he found out and because of that was too afraid to admit it, especially after he was shown grieving on National television for a dead woman that didn't exist. An embarrassment became a lie and then a lie began snowball through interview after interview and game after game, until it finally blew up
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 10:22:57 GMT -5
He didn't want to be viewed as a "crazy dude" for having an online relationship. Because now he doesn't look like a "crazy dude"? I maintain my previous stance after hearing the off-camera interview. Te'o doesn't come across as incredibly sincere, and seeing as he admitted to "catering" the story to the media to be more sensational, and he out right lied to his own father . . . I still can't really buy his side of this story.
I do believe a hoax happened, but Te'o gladly ran with it all and even used such events to improve his own status in the public eye. He lied to his family and the media, and by association everyone of us. that fact, still makes him kind of a tool.
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Post by spaneli on Jan 19, 2013 14:08:07 GMT -5
^I would disagree because your scenario provides that he's more than a tool. It would provide that he's a sociopath. It would assume that he doesn't care about the feelings of anyone, including his own father. Almost completely unfeeling. And I would disagree with that assessment. I believe your outlook is too glib.
I personally don't he's completely innocent, but he's not 100% guilty as it seems you portray him.
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