Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend might be a hoax

[Yadahell]

While I think this story is interesting, I'm kind of sick of the coverage on it. I'm also sick of the coverage on Lance Armstrong. I'd rather the primary focus was on NFL conference championship weekend.

 

[Flyingiguana]

While I think this story is interesting, I'm kind of sick of the coverage on it. I'm also sick of the coverage on Lance Armstrong. I'd rather the primary focus was on NFL conference championship weekend.

or on sharapova mowing down the field at the ausie open

 

[Bemular]

or on sharapova mowing down the field at the ausie open

That'll work!

 

[Yadahell]

or on sharapova mowing down the field at the ausie open

I'm rooting for Daniela Hantuchova.

 

[Bemular]

I'm rooting for Daniela Hantuchova.

You will have to wait for the French, Yada - Daniela was ousted in the 1st round - both singles & doubles

 

[Hangman]

Friend says Ronaiah Tuiasosopo confessed to Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax - ESPN

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man who has been publicly identified as being behind the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax, called a church friend in early December crying and admitted to duping the Heisman finalist, the friend told Outside the Lines Thursday.

The friend, a woman in her mid-20s, agreed to be interviewed under the condition that she not be identified, saying she was fearful for her family's safety because of the overwhelming publicity the story has generated. In the interview, she did allow for her voice to be recorded.

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She says Tuiasosopo gave her the tearful confession and account of how he played what he said was at first a game on the unsuspecting Te'o. And, she says, he told her that it wasn't the first time he had done it.

"He (Ronaiah) told me that Manti was not involved at all, he was a victim. ... The girlfriend was a lie, the accident was a lie, the leukemia was a lie," said the woman. "He was crying, he was literally crying, he's like 'I know, I know what I have to do.'

"It's not only Manti, but he was telling me that it's a lot of other people they had done this to."

Notre Dame issued a news release Wednesday after Deadspin.com reported it could find no record of Lennay Kekua, Te'o's supposed girlfriend, existing.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a news conference Wednesday night that 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.

Swarbrick said that the relationship took place online and over the phone. Te'o had described staying on the phone with whom he thought was Kekua for hours each night over many months. Tuiasosopo's friend from church told ESPN that Tuiasosopo admitted to having his female cousin speak to Te'o over the phone.

OTL also interviewed two other people who said they have a cousin who had the same online hoax pulled on them by Tuiasosopo.

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

ESPN's Shelley Smith talks about a conversation she had with a friend of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who claims that he has admitted to duping Manti Te'o

More Podcasts »

J.R. Vaosa, 28, of Torrance, Calif., and Celeste Tuioti-Mariner, 21, of Whittier, Calif., said that in 2008 their cousin began an online romance with a woman who portrayed herself as a model. Vaosa said the cousin showed Vaosa a picture on MySpace of a woman from a Victoria's Secret catalog that he said was Kekua. Vaosa said that the online Kekua would agree to meet his cousin at certain places. Vaosa said he went with the cousin to meet her.

"When Lennay said she was gonna be at this park one day, we'd go to the park and Ronaiah pops up and then we go to the gym in Orange County where the kids have volleyball tournaments, Ronaiah's there," Vaosa said.

Finally, the family convinced Vaosa's cousin that something wasn't right and he needed to cut things off not only with Kekua, but Tuiasosopo, whom they were convinced was the real Kekua, Tuioti-Mariner said.

"I just knew that my cousin would invite her to certain events and Lennay would always say she would go to those things, but she would never end up going and instead of her going we would see Ronaiah," Tuioti-Mariner said.

Then this fall, Vaosa and Tuioti-Mariner saw the story of Te'o's dying girlfriend.

"When I found out about the Samoan football player (and) his girlfriend, his Grandma died the same day, I was like, 'Whoa this is crazy,' I feel so bad for him, so I just looked him up," Vaosa said. "I found out his girlfriend's name was Lennay Kekua. And right when I read the name Lennay Kekua, I immediately thought of Ronaiah. Then I thought of my cousin -- that this has to be the same person."

SportsNation: A Hoax On Te'o?

SportsNationDetails are still emerging regarding Manti Te'o's girlfriend hoax story. What do you make of it?
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The cousins say they were convinced Te'o was being victimized, but say they were uncertain of what to do. They say they began tweeting their suspicions. Many of their tweets were laced with sarcasm including claims that they were the real Lennay Kekua. After Deadspin.com broke the story on Te'o and Swarbrick held a news conference, Vaosa and Tuioti-Mariner found reporters at their door and say threats were made to them and their families on Twitter.

Another person involved in the hoax has come forward as well. The woman whose photos were portrayed as Kekua was identified by Inside Edition as Diane O'Meara. Her lawyer told the program that her client is also a victim and that her photos were stolen and used to create the illusion of Te'o's girlfriend.

Deadspin.com reported in its original story that the woman whose images were used as Kekua's was actually a former high school classmate of Tuiasosopo and that he used a ruse to get her to send him at least one photo.

Meanwhile, the woman who says Tuiasosopo confessed to her says she has urged Tuiasosopo to take responsibility for his actions.

She said he called her Wednesday as the news of the hoax was breaking. She says he sounded calm but she worries about his guilt over what he did to Te'o and what he did to his family name, one of the most prominent in all of Polynesian sports. She worries what he might do to himself.

"I (still) am worried for him (Ronaiah), not just him and his family but I know that you can't judge people like that and that's why I continue to just encourage (him) to come out and tell the truth," she said.

 

[Yadahell]

You will have to wait for the French, Yada - Daniela was ousted in the 1st round - both singles & doubles

Damn! 1-6, 6-1, 1-6 in singles. While not nearly as skilled as Sharipova, I do find her a little hotter (body, not face).

Now back to your regularly scheduled Manti Te'o hoax talk....

 

[NinerSickness]

I can imagine the play-by-play commentary...

Play by Play guy: (Quarterback) hands off to (the running back), cuts right - Teo dives for him and misses - and he's pushed out of bounds for the first down!

Color guy: What a great move by (the running back)! Manti Teo didn't even lay a hand on him. It's like Teo was trying to tackle his girlfriend there, not (the runningback).

 

[Bemular]

Damn! 1-6, 6-1, 1-6 in singles. While not nearly as skilled as Sharapova, I do find her a little hotter (body, not face).

Haha, yeah, she might be a little bit of a butterface - As far as her skills, she's getting up there in age and is probably slowing, while Maria is in the midst of a second surge. Daniela played a decent number of secondary's but didn't get many wins and came in un-seeded.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Manti Te'o hoax talk....

 

[yossarian]

While I think this story is interesting, I'm kind of sick of the coverage on it. I'm also sick of the coverage on Lance Armstrong. I'd rather the primary focus was on NFL conference championship weekend.

I think Lance is supremely grateful for this story to break now!

 

[MHSL82]

Damn! 1-6, 6-1, 1-6 in singles. While not nearly as skilled as Sharipova, I do find her a little hotter (body, not face).

Now back to your regularly scheduled Manti Te'o hoax talk....

Haha, yeah, she might be a little bit of a butterface - As far as her skills, she's getting up there in age and is probably slowing, while Maria is in the midst of a second surge. Daniela played a decent number of secondary's but didn't get many wins and came in un-seeded.

I'm good with any girl showing me her body if she has a good one, but if she does, she better not be offended when people see her for her looks and not her physical skill - unless she wins. I'm talking about Danika Patrick who is good but hasn't won anything getting insulted by people focusing on her looks when she makes money off her body in goDaddy commercials and the like. I see tennis and physical sports a little different, because those sports require a great physical body (though not all are attractive). Racing a car? I guess weight matters and it does require more strength and physical ability than some think, but that's not needed.

 

[Bemular]

I'm good with any girl showing me her body if she has a good one, but if she does, she better not be offended when people see her for her looks and not her physical skill - unless she wins. I'm talking about Danika Patrick who is good but hasn't won anything getting insulted by people focusing on her looks when she makes money off her body in goDaddy commercials and the like. I see tennis and physical sports a little different, because those sports require a great physical body (though not all are attractive). Racing a car? I guess weight matters and it does require more strength and physical ability than some think, but that's not needed.

Interesting, I didn't know DP was upset because her notoriety may come more from her commercials than her success (or lack thereof) on the circuit.

Racing is an endurance sport; therefore the athletic challenges are mental and physical fatigue - i.e., their physical and mental athleticism is on the inside.

 

[MHSL82]

Interesting, I didn't know DP was upset because her notoriety may come more from her commercials than her success (or lack thereof) on the circuit.

Racing is an endurance sport; therefore the athletic challenges are mental and physical fatigue - i.e., their physical and mental athleticism is on the inside.

Some women get upset at anything. They want to eat their cake and have it, too. To be fair, we'd all like that, but some accept that once you eat the cake, you no longer have it. It's like how I want to spend my money and save it all too. Not just because I want to have things, but also, I'd like to claim I'm smart with money saving, too.

The truth is, once you use your body, all is fair game, IMO. If we are gawking at someone who is just playing a sport, fine, that's on us. Up and until you accept a photoshoot in a bikini or nude, it's on us. But after that, it's on you. Now, she's in her rights to do that, and I enjoy hot pictures and videos as much as the rest, but the accusations some do afterwards is ridiculous. She basically calls others sexist when she uses men for profit. Her rights, but she put it out there. Claim virtue if you don't show your body.

Don't get me wrong, she's not as bad as some. Some models and **** stars probably want recognition for things when they don't even do them, like Danika does in fact work hard to race.

 

[wartyOne]

I think Lance is supremely grateful for this story to break now!

I don't think he is. Dude is such a smug, arrogant jackass, that he probably views this as getting in the way of his face time.

What a colossal doosh Armstrong has turned out to be. And I hope he has another skillset to fall back on, because once the lawsuits start rolling in, he's going to be bankrupt in no time.

 

[Bemular]

I don't think he is. Dude is such a smug, arrogant jackass, that he probably views this as getting in the way of his face time.

What a colossal doosh Armstrong has turned out to be. And I hope he has another skillset to fall back on, because once the lawsuits start rolling in, he's going to be bankrupt in no time.

This!

 

[MHSL82]

I don't think he is. Dude is such a smug, arrogant jackass, that he probably views this as getting in the way of his face time.

What a colossal doosh Armstrong has turned out to be. And I hope he has another skillset to fall back on, because once the lawsuits start rolling in, he's going to be bankrupt in no time.

Politics? Because a lot of people believed him - some of it was patriotism, but some of it was the way he said it and wanting him to be innocent.

 

[wartyOne]

I don't think he is. Dude is such a smug, arrogant jackass, that he probably views this as getting in the way of his face time.

What a colossal doosh Armstrong has turned out to be. And I hope he has another skillset to fall back on, because once the lawsuits start rolling in, he's going to be bankrupt in no time.

Damn. Gatorchip is almost half my "liked" posts.

Oh well.

 

[MHSL82]

Damn. Gatorchip is almost half my "liked" posts.

Oh well.

(Repost alert) I wonder if Gatorchip just wants people to see his profile (he has a crazy pic there), dislikes the likes so much that he's trying to get it removed by liking everything (making it overused and meaningless), or if he's just one happy camper who likes everything. I've seen a lot of "likes" from him here and other boards on the SportsHoopla'. He even 'liked' the previous post of this content about him liking everything. I'm pretty sure he'll 'like' this, too.

 

[wartyOne]

(Repost alert) I wonder if Gatorchip just wants people to see his profile (he has a crazy pic there), dislikes the likes so much that he's trying to get it removed by liking everything (making it overused and meaningless), or if he's just one happy camper who likes everything. I've seen a lot of "likes" from him here and other boards on the SportsHoopla'. He even 'liked' the previous post of this content about him liking everything. I'm pretty sure he'll 'like' this, too.

That pic is from Pet Cemetery, no?

 

[MHSL82]

That pic is from Pet Cemetery, no?

Haven't see it. (Should I?) I'm guessing it is from there.