One of the biggest stories this week was that Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman trophy runner-up, Manti Te’o, was exposed in a piece by Deadspin as having made up the story of losing his girlfriend to leukemia last September. In response, Manti issued a statement claiming to have been the victim of an Internet hoax, and Notre Dame of course backed him up. He was expected to hold a press conference to answer questions about his involvement in the scandal, but instead the athletic director from Notre Dame held the press conference with Manti nowhere in sight. It seemed like a cover-up for a star player, and there are still so many unanswered questions about it. It’s also a very complicated story, so I’ll do some bullet points here, which I have to credit Buzzfeed and CNN for.
This story is hard to parse out, and there are of course more details I’m leaving out. Here’s the version that Notre Dame wants us to believe, but I’m not convinced. They want us to believe that Manti was a very naive victim of a cruel hoax. Maybe this kind of relationship appealed to him because he was devout in his Mormon faith and it was easier to love someone from afar. It’s possible he made up a cover story about how he met Lennay in order to hide the fact that they had an online-only relationship. It’s possible he used false details to bolster their relationship to the press and those close to them, like telling his family she would visit him. If this version is the case, though, at the very least he continued to lie and act as if this person were real even after he realized he was duped. This makes me wonder – who was the woman talking to him on the phone and why did she come clean about the hoax?
Other theories claim that Manti was in on this with his old buddy Ronaiah the whole time and that it was a cover up for the fact that he’s deep in the closet.
As Radar reports, apart from his written statement, Manti has remained silent since news of this scandal broke and has not spoken to the press. Radar has a related story about how this mess could cost Manti a career in the NFL.
Photos from Facebook
What a huge unnecessary mess.
I don’t know why it would cost him a shot in the NFL. He would fit in well amoung the other d-bag football players.
Seriously, the NFL have guys that have been convicted of rapes, assaults, manslaughter, fraud etc etc. He’ll fit right in.
They could care less about this, the only issue is that he’ll be a top 20 draft pick instead of top 10. Oh the horror! (eye roll)
Its better to be a rapist or wife beater than to be percieved as Gay in NFL
Yeah I read a funny/sad comment that said something like at least his fake girlfriend died of fake leukemia…that had it been a real girlfriend in the NFL he would have just shot her.
The thing I constantlt tell my sports fan sons: Athletes (most of them anyway) are not heroes or role models. Sure they can enjoy sports but they should direct their admiration to people who do meaningful work to make a difference in the world.
Not all players are bad role models. A kid could do worse than look up to, say, Andrew Luck.
@Jay, Funny you mention Luck because my older son is a HUGE fan. Agree that he is a fine role model, probably mostly imo because he’s inspired my son to shoot for Stanford.
I guess I should revise my statement to say that sports stars can be inspirational but it’s a shame that people who are doing really important work do so with nowhere near the same level attention/appreciation that sports figures do.
Last picture = Pearl Drops, please. I’m so catty today, is it too early for a drink? lol
I have the flu and thank you for the laugh. I was thinking along the same lines. I mean I hate the Hollywood glowing fake white but this is a bit much.
Glad I made you chuckle…get well soon!! 🙂
OMG you literally made me LOL with this comment! (pearl drops)… that was hilarious.
Agreed. Pearl Drops is just so much funnier than, say, White Strips.
Really? A hoax like this can cause a star player his future career in the NFL meanwhile 80% of players are womanizers, cheaters, wife beaters, or have some form of addiction? Interesting how this is ‘fitting.’ Complete BS. I’m not even a fan but he’s good enough that I’ve heard of him and know that he deserves that NFL contract more than some of those players.
I read a quote from an NFL scout saying that while his team will draft criminals, they will not draft a liar. Not that I agree with it, but that apparently is their logic
Because criminals are sincere, honest people. What a brilliant line of reasoning.
Right?!? In the NFL, if you’re going to kill a woman off, she better be real or no deal!
I don’t believe for a second he’ll be kept out of the NFL. He is too talented on the field for any of this to truly matter.
This continues to be such a confusing mess. I fear we will never know the whole truth, which will drive me nuts.
Cover up is worse than the lie. He’s gay.
Gay was the first thing I thought, too. Poor guy probably invented it all as a cover and the lies have snowballed.
It’s not going to cost him a job in the NFL, if it were, he wouldn’t be at the NFL Combine training for the draft. As long as he can produce, someone will snatch him up. It may have cost him a spot in the top 10, but that’s about it. (then again, his playing in the championship game could cost him that spot too)
Honestly, I still think it was done in part for publicity. Before this year, I had never heard of Te’o but I’m not an ND fan, so it’s possible he was talked about before I just didn’t hear it. No one would have made this into a thing, had he not made it into a thing. I do believe he liked seeing his name/face everywhere, being considered an inspiration.
My family is hugely into ND. Manti was a huge prospect when he was signed from high school. He performed really well and especially this last year. I didn’t think he needed publicity like this, but I guess I don’t know why he would otherwise do this.
University of No Such Dame (wish I could take credit for that one…)
I’m a Trojan so I’m smirking. I have also wondered about his career in the NFL because it seemed to me that he might be mentally unstable.
They don’t care if you are ghetto not-so-fabulous or if you are a bit pushy with women (*ahem*rapist*ahem*) but they care if you are not a fine specimen of American masculinity.
The reason I don’t think he is a devout young man who prefers a long distance relationship is because after THREE years I think he would have wanted to meet her and perhaps prepare to marry. That is what devout young men do isn’t it?
Manti, if you were in on the hoax (and it sure looks like you were) come clean NOW. don’t wait 15 years and who knows how many lies/lawsuits later to go on Oprah and admit your guilt.
See also: Armstrong, Lance.
lmao!
Well said. I admit it is so confusing I don’t get it at all!
I’ve been sort of keeping up on this. My feeling is, he and his buddy made up this story. For whatever reason. I’ve also heard he’s arrogant, a poor sport and generally a real prick. He said he never met her in person, but his dad said he told them they had met a few times. Theres so many conflicting accounts it gives me a headache. I do think he wanted press, he wanted to stand out. He was pulling a Lance Armstrong. He shouldn’t be rewarded for lying and such a sick lie at that
AMEN!,
This shows the problem of “too much information”. Why should a college athlete have the same level of exposure as a movie star? A boy makes up a fake girlfriend to appease his family. Why do we even know about this? No one would have given a sh!t thirty years ago.
The problem was, it wasn’t just for his family. He played the sympathy to get Heisman votes. It’s not fair to other athletes either.
Yes and speaking of movies stars I heard he now is repped by CAA, who specialize in celebs. He’s technically no longer Notre Dame’s.
Maybe he wants to be the next Tebow (who also had a Heisman campaign with his ‘inspirational’ home-school thing), but actually play good football.
WHAT? Is anyone else as confused as I am? LOL.
Me. Don’t understand this story at all!
I tried, but I don’t get it either!
At 1st it was confusing to me because I don’t understand how such a riduculous story is getting such press. I don’t know, but I’m just getting the “feel” that this is like, something that belongs in the category of high school/adolescent pranks.
I understand that maybe this was really, REALLY stupid prank/story so this dude could garner sympathy & attention in his quest for the Heisman trophy…& also maybe a fake persona/beard cover…maybe?…but it’s gone too far & has become SO ridiculous.
As more is revealed, & as more contradictions arise, again I feel that national attention is being directed to a gag/prank that is SO adolescent & childish in nature that just shows how immature and stupid this Manti Te’o is. I’ll say this, if it does turn out to be a prank that Manti was in on, there should be consequences for him.
I’m thinking the gay angle is what’s going on here. He got tired of the guys ribbing him about where his girlfriend was so he and his friend create a girl. He gets tired of them asking why she doesn’t visit so he kills her off a la Elaine killing Suzy off in Seinfeld. People start asking and it gets bigger than he ever imagined and now it’s all coming out. He will continue to deny any involvement so we’ll never get a true story. As long as no one accepted gifts or anything he hasn’t done anything illegal but I can see how some nfl players might respond negatively to him after this mess.
Dammit! I posted my theory down below and just saw this. I guess I’m not the first to think of it 🙁
Boo-here I was thinking I was so clever 😉
Haha! Well you know what they say about great minds…
Alright now, slow down a bit. It’s fitting that he should lose his shot to play a linebacker in the NFL? Come on now. I am a huge NFL fan. I love football. But the NFL has many, many issues – the head injuries, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse. Being a gullible, possibly closeted moron – or even a would-be con man? What, like that’s going to bring down the spotless image of the league? Give me a break.
He probably will lose out on a big contract for this, and that’s garbage – as much so as when Cincinnati almost didn’t draft Andy Dalton because they weren’t sure about having a red headed QB. (No I am not making that up; this is the brain trust that is running a playoff-caliber NFL team.) But if we start firing linebackers for not being smart, the talent level is going way down. Ever watch Ivy League football? Do you know why it’s a big deal when a Yale guy makes it big in the NFL? It’s an anomaly when someone that smart is also an NFL-level talent.
Sports in general have a lot of issues (domestic violence really crosses the barrier on all forms of sport) but I think compared to other sports, the NFL is much more professional and much more strict than most.
And go Patriots! *runs and hides*
Go Pats! (hides with Kitten)
Go Ravens!!!
🙂
I hear you and removed that line. I don’t follow sports much.
I’m a big football/sports fan too, and while this won’t prevent him from being drafted, I think the bad publicity is going to drop him a few rounds, which means a much less lucrative contract. He’s gone from being projected to go in the first few spots to maybe 3rd round or so (if I remember correctly) and will probably drop
further. Which is kinda sad–while I think the whole thing was a stupid ruse to drum up publicity it’s certainly not the worst infraction by an athlete. Hell, Ray Lewis held a guy while his friend shot him to death in a nightclub and now he’s a icon.
Oh man, that Ray Lewis thing drives me bananas! They talk about him like we’re idiots who just FORGOT all about that. The commercial where he’s skipping with a little girl makes me throw up in my mouth. Way to go, NFL.
In Boston area on the Pike there’s a huge billboard with a countdown to Lewis’ “early retirement”. Anyone seen it? It gave me laugh..
That guy is such a dirtbag.
SWEET. Up north here in Maine we have signs inviting people to Lewis’ retirement party this Sunday at 6.
Did you root for the Ravens or the Broncos in last Saturday’s game, TQB?
It was kinda like politics to me-both sides suck. Great game though-very exciting to watch.
that’s what I said upthread, he might get a smaller contract but if he proves himself they’ll pay him. Look at Arian Foster, went undrafted free agent and now he’s making some change.
As for the Ray Lewis thing, I don’t disagree with you guys, but I read an interesting article about how he made his redemption in the NFL (to his fans, his team, hell even Brady (sorry OKitt) is in a commercial with him) the steps that he took. I’ll go see if I can find the link (although really I don’t know how to post it)
and what you were talking about lower thread OKitt how it was easier to kill off the fake gf-I guess I don’t understand why he would do it the same day his grandomther passed away, it all just seems so odd..
Oh my god-I get so furious when I see all my Baltimore friends posting about what an amazing guy Ray Lewis is! He is a total thug-I cannot believe how he has managed to rehabilitate his image!!!
Dammit marie-not my Brady! lol I refuse to believe he would share screen time with that thug.
Post the link if you can find it-I’m definitely interested in reading it.
Kitten, I rooted for Denver. I know, I know – it would have sucked to go and play in Denver this weekend, but I don’t like playing the Ravens in the post season, even at home. I just don’t. It’s gone bad too many times. Plus, I have to admit that Peyton has wormed his way into my heart. Pats-Denver would just have been a better story.
And yes, there is a Brady – Ray Lewis commercial. Don’t know what it’s for because I swear too loudly during it.
Ray Lewis is a murdererrrrrrr boo hiss
1. He’s a liar. Is that worse than a rapist, drug-user, domestic abuser, gang-banger, or whatever? No. It isn’t. But he is a liar and a big one at that. It will cost him in the draft (along with his pathetic performance in the national championship team). He’ll get drafted, but I will bet he falls out of the first round and maybe out of the second round. He’d better have one hell of a combine.
2. That Cincinnati considered not drafting Dalton because of his red hair says it all about Cincinnati, which hasn’t won a playoff game since the 80s, I believe.
3. I don’t want my team to go anywhere near the guy. Pathetic guy. Poser. Don’t like him.
No NFL team wants a widely percieved to be Gay player
it’s not that big a deal.
@ Marie,according to Wade Davis former NFL player who came out recently as Gay ,it is a big deal.It is not a coincidence that there has never been a openly Gay player in NFL,NBA or MLB.Never,ever
If it wasn’t a big deal, there would be some. Or any.
just because they haven’t come out in a magazine or sports show doesn’t mean there aren’t gay players in the NFL. I don’t know the names of the players SO’s nor do I care.
This is *JUST* a theory on my part and I’m going to throw it out there at the risk of people screaming at me but I have a feeling this was made up to conceal something, perhaps and this is a big PERHAPS, that he is gay.
Now listen, people who know me around here might call me out as I make it a point to avoid speculating about people’s sexuality but HEAR ME OUT: He didn’t need the publicity-this guy was famous for his career and he earned it. But why create the fake girlfriend to begin with? Was it easier than getting a beard (in which case he would need some level of collusion from the woman) or was it just an easy way to avoid questions about who he is dating etc etc?
Ok, again-this is something that I’m just throwing out there as a possibility-not saying it’s definitive.
What IS definitive, however, is that this guy was covering up something. The “why” is really what’s missing here.
Also, I haven’t been following this story very closely so if I’m completely off-base please feel free to tell me why. I admit I don’t know all the details, just the overall picture.
You’re not alone-I wondered that too.
I don’t think anyone will scream at you, everywhere I read about this, people are speculating that’s the case.
I don’t understand the lie of the girlfriend either. Players aren’t generally asked about that, and if they are he could have just said he had a girl at home. why were the lies so elaborate? maybe he is gay, but I also think he loves attention.
and for third (don’t you hate when folks just start randomly number their bullet points?) GO FALCONS!!
And why KILL her off? Why not just say they broke up?
@Lucy-yeah apparently the gay theory has already been bounced around so I guess it’s old news and I’m just living under a rock. I just didn’t want to offend people by saying this guy is definitively gay without any real proof. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (to quote Seinfeld).
@marie-yeah I know what you mean but maybe it was easier to kill the girlfriend off and be done with it then to have the media looking for her and asking her opinion about him, what with the spotlight shining so brightly on him right now. And thirdly, 😉 Maybe he knew that people would be more hesitant to question him and do their standard due diligence if they thought it was a sensitive issue, such as death.
also thought this, and I think we’ll find out that this will likely be the case. But it’s not just that he lied about having a girlfriend…he lied about a gf who DIED of CANCER. and this drew sympathy from the public. I don’t care about football or cycling, but revealing major character flaws so explicitly in front of the public merits this reaction.
He’s a fool, and obviously not that bright. NFL’s PR machine is right to reacting the way it has, but am sure this will blow over eventually. He will play, just for much, much, less now for having been such an idiot to go on with this charade. He created his own mess. stoopid. stoopid. stoopid.
And previous to having “died” she was in a horrible car crash and could have “died” from that, though I guess that wasn’t dramatic enough for him. Death by cancer would probably generate more sympathy than death by car crash.
That is what I think too. Sorry, it just is.
That is what happens when you live by lying. It gets hard trying to make all your lies match and pretty soon your words and your whole house of cards comes tumbling down.
Is there anything worse than someone who constantly concocts stories? Lies and delusion, always hand in hand. No matter if is Lindsay Lohan, a football star or some idiot IRL.
I understand it more when it’s someone with fame and fortune on the line, harder to understand why some dipsh-t in “real life” would be spinning a web of lies and constructing a house of cards. I suppose some people just have boring-ass lives and crave the drama.
Regardless, it is never right.
Like the line in Homeland “It’s the lies that undo us”.
Everybody has all this speculation and maybe it’s as simple as he is just a whackjob…there are plenty of them out there that’s for sure.
+ 1,000,000. Sorry I can’t think of anything better to say – but you ladies have put it perfectly.
I’m still wondering why this is national news?? I’m not a sports fan, so maybe that’s why-but, huh? He’s either an idiot or a liar, and I don’t understand why this would impact his NFL career-and sure don’t see why it’s all over the news.
Because he is a famous sports star caught in a scandal that questions his character. Just like why the scandel with Tiger Woods was national news. I don’t follow sports but even I have heard of this kid. Lots of positive publicity he got in the past-the nice Mormon kid.
As long as he continues playing well Notre Dame will cover for him and he will get a fat NFL contract.
Yes plus people seem to love to hate Notre Dame and are gleeful when something puts them in a bad light.
@Happymom…my thoughts exactly. I didn’t see your comment till after I had made mine. I agree w/you. A high-schoolish, adolescent prank gone bad…& just because it involves a big college & high profile player…it’s in the national conscience.
**I’m not a big football fan, & hope I haven’t offended any that are, but this is just such a childish prank. Like I said above, there should be consequences.
You’re busted, dude. Come clean now, apologize, and try to move on.
If it really was a hoax and he found out on 12/6, he would NOT have mentioned her 2 days later.
If he’s a talented player, it shouldn’t cost him his career, but it probably isn’t making him more desirable to teams right now.
If he is gay and this was all some sort of elaborate cover because of football, religion, or culture, I feel sorry for him that he felt the need to do that. But it’s still very wrong and very gross.
I’m confused about the portion with the Arizona Cardinal’s player claiming he met her and helped her through the loss of her father. I could have sworn I read something about how her “sister” popped up on Twitter claiming that her family missed her and that they were out celebrating the Dad’s birthday? Did I miss something with that?
I personally don’t see how he couldn’t have been involved in some way. Too many details don’t add up for me for him to NOT have been involved in some way. Plus, he knows this guy behind it. There’s no question, especially when I’m reading there were pictures of them that have since been deleted.
Wild, speculative guess is the Arizona player is/was his lover…
This is crack PI work but after I read what the Arizona guy was saying I looked him up. He attended the University of Hawaii in Manoa from 2002 – 2007. Te’o attended HS in Manoa from 2005 – 2008.
While it may be a coincidence, it is POSSIBLE they know/knew each other.
CFL, here he comes!
My theory: the GF is Lance, who wanted to find a way that he could do his big come clean and somehow NOT be the biggest sports story in the country that day.
I’m sort of kidding. In fact, how pissed is Lance that he contrives this whole confession and totally loses the spotlight? Schadenfreude!
LOL on your comments on Lance. I have been glued to the TV these past nights re him and then race to the internet to read about the analysis of his interview. I am more fascinated with the pyschology behind all of this. On this site we frequently call celebs narcissist and sociopaths, etc. and I have asked, along with others, if narcissim can be treated and most of us have conluded that it can’t, at least not without a concerted effort on the part of the person. It has been said that Lance is a sociopath and a narcissist and you can see that in this interview. It is like he isn’t even human, he has no understanding or feeling of the harm he has done to so many. On paper he seems to be aware of it but he can’t get the concept. Maybe with more therapy and a sincere effort he will get it, but I doubt it. I do not think he is capable of true remorse and that he continues to lie even now. Since he compared his sentence to a death sentence I will go on to say that his lack of remorse or understanding of the pain he has caused can be compared to a sociopathic murderer who has no feeling for his victim.
Perhaps Oprah can interview him next and he can pseudo confess like Lance Armstrong? What a mess!
I don’t really see why this is a big story or a scandal. He is not that famous. He was exposed and now the damage control has started. He is obviously in the closet or just attention seeking, well he has that now. No one got really hurt though, it’s just very embarrassing.
They played it up HUGELY on the sports shows. Te’o was a star. It was an inspirational story. He was in the running for a Heisman, he played excellent defense all year (til Alabama).
I really wish that the death of Lizzy Seeberg after she took her own life after reporting being raped by a Notre Dame football player, had received half of the attention that this nonsense has. A player that played in the recent championship, when Alabama rolled over them.
I could personally care less about his fake girlfriend and whether he was in on it.
However the media should be exposing the rape culture at Notre Dame. That is real news.
Agreed! Although- Seeberg said she was sexually molested, not raped. Regardless, her story is tragic and it’s terrible that ND is still being allowed to act like this boy’s club.
And that Seeberg’s suicide stirred probably 1% or less of the attention that Te’o has gotten.
* assaulted
Sexual Assualt is the legal term used for rape….we don’t say rape in our society here, that’s not a nice word is it?, police use the term ‘sexual assualt’-it white washes it and people are confused thinking oh maybe ‘he just made her kiss him’, as though that is not ‘rape’? and rape is only what? forced intercourse?
sexual assault IS rape. They are the same-forced sexual relations.
Also, this thread: this nonsense about ray lewis ‘making up for it’ with his fan,s etc shows a lot about this culture…wtf?
If males and fans in general put HALF the emotional and psychological energy they put into football, into actual real life and issues in the world, we’d have a changed world….
And who needs to apologize for ‘offending football fans’ simply b/c one is not a fan?
I loathe it and always have-the team loyalty and over the top importance given it, and so many other reasons, just add to my dislike.
It’s not rocket science. Nor is it curing anything or helping anyone.
It’s entertainment, which is essential in life and football/sports are entertainment for some, not all.
At this point, you cannot even appreciate the physicality of it, when nearly every player is doping or otherwise getting an ‘advantage’.
What a disturbing thread of comments, about a more disturbing topic: NFL.
oh, they are ‘more strict’ than NBA and MLB? gee, that is saying something-lol
this culture is ill….
How sincere a Mormon can he be to have definitely knowingly lied 12/8? Oh, right, Romney seemed to feel fine blatantly lying as well. Does their church teach the ends justify the means? Or that professions of faith are all that matter?
What I want to know is whose breathing did Manti listen to every night for 8 hours?!
BTW, does anyone remember Brian’s Song? Manti probably saw the remake and thought he could orchestrate a CW or Lifetime caliber version.
I won’t engage the romney talk (not because I like him but because I tend to get offensive with my opinions and I know that isn’t appropriate for this site, so I am trying to be good), but I will say that lots of ego-driven type of people, the win at all costs kind of people often use religion to soothe their conscience. So they aren’t necessarily faking it but they need to know that they are spiritual and good people and God is blessing them with all this success and shining a light down on them so then they can go back out in the world and continue to do what they do whether it be lying, stealing, cheating, destroying jobs all to make more money for themselves. I think celebs join cults for similar reasons (the Co$, Kabalah, etc.), also to stroke their ego even more.
the whole thing is just stupid. Like who cares if he lied? Oh well, people lie. It makes him look stupid but let’s get over it!
Agreed
My first thought was Pearl Drops/White Strips, too….I think it was a lie that escalated until it got out of control, but still a terrible lie.
I think he got caught up in a hoax and then when he found it was a hoax he was too embarrassed about it and got caught up in a circle of lies. It will be sad if he was in on it the whole time because what type of crazy are you to come up with something like that.
I agree, I think he got caught up in something not of his own devising which is why it’s such a confusing mess.
Oh what a tangled web we weave…….. Maybe it started out as a ploy to throw people off the fact that he may be gay, but then one lie led to another, that led to another, and so on and so on.
I doubt this will hurt his NFL career. It seems these days the nuttier or more outlandish you are, the more famous you become.
So apparently the guy who set it all up is now “confessing”, and Te’o’s uncle is claiming he knew all along that guy was a liar (yeah right).
Apparently the “relationship” started in 2008. So for FOUR YEARS he had an online girlfriend he never met or spoke too? (yeah right).
Some “cousins” are claiming they figured out the hoax. Puh-lease.
This is family trying to cash in on their 15 minutes, and make him seem like a victim. He had to have been in on it, otherwise he’d have to be one of the most naive people to ever walk the earth.
There are cached twitter records of Teo and the perpetrator communicating and acknowledging their friendship. If Teo was scammed (he wasn’t) it was a by someone he considers a friend. Not a stranger. Regardless of the reason (closeted? Heisman votes? Fame whore?) this guy was very likely in on it.
The only thing that makes sense in the mess is that Te’o is gay. Sad that the NFL would rather have a rapist, drug abuser, or murder on a team rather than a gay man.
Dear NFL and other sports leagues,
READ THIS COMMENT!!! Gayness should not be ranked below criminal behavior!!!
Sincerely,
A football fan who doesn’t give a crap about players’ romantic lives
This is a ridiculous story…who would consider someone a ‘girlfriend’ after just meeting online? Get real, this just doesn’t make sense in this day and age. A guy has to at least date someone and romanticize someone in the flesh before they become a ‘girlfriend.’ I’m just not buying this silly story, something is amiss here.