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

[clyde_carbon]

One other thing that is bizarre about this.....who the hell has the free time to conduct this elaborate of a hoax? This is no small time commitment.

And who the hell was he talking to 4 hours a night on the phone?

 

[wartyOne]

And who the hell was he talking to 4 hours a night on the phone?

Who does this anyway?

This whole story is so fucking bizarre.

 

[tomikcon1971]

I don't follow Couric but apparently someone I follow does.....a RT

@katiecouric: I will be doing the first on-camera interview with Manti Te'o & his parents - this Thursday on @KatieShow Katie Couric to Interview Manti Te'o, Notre Dame Football Star Who Was Victim of Hoax - ABC News

 

[badazzk9]

Manti should get drafted by the Falcons... his tackling style would fit in.

 

[NinerSickness]

Wrong thread.

 

[MHSL82]

Manti Te'o of Notre Dame Fighting Irish denies being part of hoax about late girlfriend - ESPN

Manti Te'o denied being part of a hoax involving a relationship with a person online whom he considered his girlfriend, during an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on Friday night, but did say he "tailored" his stories so people would think he "met her before she passed away."

"No. Never," Te'o said during the 2½-hour interview. "I wasn't faking it. I wasn't part of this."

Te'o said he didn't know for sure that "Lennay Kekua" never existed until Wednesday, when Ronaiah Tuiasosopo called Te'o and admitted he was behind the hoax.

Te'o said he received a Twitter direct message from Tuiasosopo where Tuiasosopo said he was the perpetrator, along with one other man and a woman. Te'o then talked to Tuiasosopo on the phone Wednesday.

"Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," Te'o said. Asked who they are, he said: "I don't know. According to Ronaiah, Ronaiah's one."

Later Wednesday, Deadspin.com posted a story detailing an online relationship Te'o thought he had with Kekua which he says he learned was a hoax. Te'o said he has not read the Deadspin story or any other media report since the news broke.

Te'o spoke at the IMG Training Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he is preparing for the NFL draft. There were no television cameras at the interview, which was recorded on audio.

The Notre Dame linebacker said he did not make up anything to help his Heisman Trophy candidacy. Te'o finished second to Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel.

"When (people) hear the facts, they'll know," he said. "They'll know that there is no way that I could be part of this."

In the interview, Te'o also said:

• He lied to his father about having met Kekua, prompting his father to tell reporters that Te'o and Kekua had met. Several media stories indicated that Te'o and Kekua had met. Te'o insisted they never did.

• He tried to speak with Kekua via Skype and FaceTime on several occasions, but the person at the other end of the line was in what he called a "black box" and wasn't seen.

• He planned to meet Kekua in person several times, including in Los Angeles and Hawaii, but on each occasion she called off the meeting or sent others in her place.

• The first time he met Tuiasosopo was in Los Angeles. Notre Dame beat USC there on Nov. 24.

• A group of people connected to Tuiasosopo showed up at the team hotel, after curfew, for the Discover BCS National Championship Game in Miami. Te'o said he knew they were at the hotel because the group took photos in the hotel lobby. Someone in the group called Te'o, saying they were waiting for Kekua to join them in the lobby and asking if she was with him. Te'o then hung up. Te'o said it did not affect his play in the game, where Notre Dame lost to Alabama 42-14.

• Te'o was never asked for money during the plot, but Kekua once requested his checking account number in order to send him money. Te'o did not provide his account number.

A South Bend Tribune report described Te'o and Kekua touching hands during an in-person meeting in 2009 at Stanford, but Te'o said that never happened and he didn't know Kekua until 2010.

"I'd never told anybody that I've touched her hand," he said.

Te'o said he altered his stories so his family and others would think he did met Kekua in person.

"That goes back to what I did with my dad," Te'o said. "I knew that -- I even knew, that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet, and that alone -- people find out that this girl who died, I was so invested in, I didn't meet her, as well. So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away, so that people wouldn't think that I was some crazy dude."

Their relationship started, Te'o said, when Kekua sent him a friend request on Facebook the winter of his freshman year at Notre Dame. The two then had intermittent contact over the phone.

"My relationship with Lennay wasn't a four-year relationship," Te'o said. "There were blocks and times and periods in which we would talk and then it would end."

Te'o said their relationship escalated after Kekua told him her father had died.

"She told me her dad passed away, and I was there. I was just being that shoulder to cry on. And I kind of just naturally cared for the person," Te'o said. "And so our relationship kind of took another level. But not the kind of exclusive level yet."

He said he was told Kekua was in a car accident April 28 and was in the hospital. He said he was told she was in a coma.

"I would ask to talk to her, and the only communication I had was through Kainoa, her brother, and he used her phone," Te'o said. "And he would put me supposedly right next to her mouth and I could hear the ventilator going. And she would be breathing. ... They said every time I was on the phone, they would tell me the nurse noticed that whoever was on the phone with her, she must have recognized the voice, because she would start breathing quicker and I could hear on the phone."

Te'o was told Kekua awoke from the coma in mid-May. From that point, the relationship became more serious and they spoke on the phone every day.

"Every day. I slept on the phone with her every night," Te'o said. "... I'd be on the phone. And she had complications from the accident, and she said the only thing that could help her sleep was if I was on the phone. So I would be on the phone, and I'd have the phone on the whole night."

Schaap asked why Te'o didn't go to see Kekua in the hospital.

"It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he said.

Te'o talked often about a "spiritual connection" between him and Kekua. Te'o discussed a ritual where he and Kekua exchanged scripture readings. Soon, his father and mother joined in. They used the SOAP method of study, which stands for scripture, observation, application, and prayer.

"We'd slack off sometimes, and my dad would say, 'Who is slacking now? Whose turn is it to send the scripture?' But for the most part it was every day," Te'o said.

Te'o also said that his mother "had had lengthy conversations with her about her experiences about being a convert (to Mormonism), and what she thought and shared with Lennay things to look for and things that she should do."

In late June or early July, Te'o said Kekua and her brother told him she had leukemia.

On Sept. 12, his mother and father called Te'o to tell him his grandmother had died. He said Kekua called him after his grandmother's death.

"I was angry. I didn't want to be bothered," he said. "So Lennay was just trying to be there for me. I just, I just -- I just wanted my own space. We got in an argument. She was saying, 'You know, I'm trying to be here for you.' I didn't want to be bothered. I wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to be by myself.

"Last thing she told me was 'Just know I love you.' "

Later that day, Te'o was told Kekua had died from leukemia. He said he was in the Notre Dame locker room when he got the call.

Te'o said he stayed in contact with Kekua's family after her death. They told him not to come to the funeral because "her mom told them she didn't want me to come."

"They didn't want -- and I didn't want myself -- I didn't want that to be the first time that I saw her was laying in a coffin," Te'o said.

Then months later, on Dec. 6, Te'o said he received a phone call from the number Kekua had used. He answered and a woman's voice on the other end said there was something she needed to tell him, but it could wait until after the national title game on Jan. 8.

"I said you have to tell me now, because if you don't tell me now, I'm still going to think about it," Te'o said. "... She said, well, Manti, it's me. That's all she said. And I played stupid for a little bit. I was like, 'Oh, I know it's you, U'ilani (Kekua's purported sister). What do you mean?' And she's like, 'No, Manti, it's me.' "

Te'o asked who "me" was.

"She said, 'It's Lennay,' " he said. "So we carried on that conversation, and I just got mad. I just went on a rampage. 'How could you do this to me?' I ended that conversation by saying simply this: 'You know what? Lennay, my Lennay, died on Sept. 12.' "

Te'o said he was just confused at this point, and told his parents -- and then the Notre Dame staff -- over Christmas that Kekua might be alive. Notre Dame then started an investigation.

Te'o spoke of Kekua as his girlfriend several times after Dec. 6. One was at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York on Dec. 8 to ESPN's Chris Fowler. Another was on ESPN Radio the same day. There were two other times, including a column in the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 10. He was also asked about it at a Jan. 3 news conference before the BCS title game but did not refer to his "girlfriend" directly.

Te'o said he still spoke of her in interviews because he was unclear what had really happened.

"I didn't know, myself. I didn't know what to believe," Te'o said. "All I knew for sure in my head was that she died on Sept. 12."

The person claiming to be Kekua told him stories about hiding from "drug people" and provided him with photographs of a different woman than he had seen before.

"There were a whole bunch of possibilities going through my head," he said. "She could have died. This could be (U'ilani) trying to pull a stunt on me."

After the interview, Te'o showed Schaap Twitter direct messages from Tuiasosopo that contained an apology for orchestrating the hoax.

Te'o was asked what he thought should happen to Tuiasosopo.

"I hope he learns," Te'o said. "I hope he understands what he's done. I don't wish an ill thing to somebody. I just hope he learns. I think embarrassment is big enough."

He added: "I'll be OK. As long as my family's OK, I'll be fine."

 

[MHSL82]

Obviously, if he made it up, this is just more made up stuff. If he's telling the truth, then this is substantive. If he was really duped, he still always had a reason for his lies, so I could see him having reasons for some untruths, here.

 

[MHSL82]

There are other articles too, but I'm not pasting them, here. Just read if you want. I have only read the "incredulous taste" article and the one posted above. The comedy one might be ok.

Highlights of Manti Te'o interview with Jeremy Schaap
Manti Te'o's interview leaves an incredulous taste
Friend of Manti Te'o recalls car accident phone call on April 28
Manti Te'o, love, mistaken identity, deception and the history of comedy
Friend says Ronaiah Tuiasosopo confessed to Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax

There's a lot more, just go through the side articles if interested.

 

[tomikcon1971]

Better late than never....shower pics of Te' o's girlfriend.....

 

[NinerSickness]

You're on a roll today Tomik.

 

[tomikcon1971]

Still basking in the glow of Sunday.....

 

[Kinzu]

The story he tells makes sense. I've been playing MMO's online off and on over the past 10 years and met more than one person that would spend months some of them years playing off as the opposite sex. I met guys that were doing it because they were gay, and guys doing it just to play off of other guys natural reaction to help the girl. I also met girls that were playing under the alias of a guy just to avoid being hit on every second they were online.

Just saying lots of people are out there pretending to be somebody they are not, and I can believe he got caught up believing in someone's lie. I've seen it happen several times, but this is the first time it's probably ever gone so public with the media.

 

[badazzk9]

Alleged girlfriends voicemails...

Listen To Manti Te'o's Voicemails From Lennay Kekua/Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

 

[TobyTyler]

And who the hell was he talking to 4 hours a night on the phone?

Apparently some dude with voice training pretending to be a girl if the latest reports are accurate. This Teo cat seems really creepy.

 

[MHSL82]

Alleged girlfriends voicemails...

Listen To Manti Te'o's Voicemails From Lennay Kekua/Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

ESPN Says It Has A Spreadsheet Of Manti Te'o's Phone Calls [UPDATED]

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

I've been trying to avoid this story because it was a stupid mistake from a stupid kid, and the media really piled on, but this absolutely shitstorm of BS that Teo's side is putting out there is more and more pathetic. The line that comes to mind is "if you can't baffle em with brilliance, blind em with bullshit". The problem is that every excuse they use prompts two more questions, so we get two more excuses leading to four more questions, and so on and so on.....

So now we're at the point where they're trying to say he actually spent hours a night on the phone with a *dude* impersonating a woman, and he couldn't tell after how many hours of this? And he's trying to say he didn't know it was a hoax for sure almost a MONTH after Notre Dame did a full investigation? Its just a river of bullshit, even the dumbest MF alive would have been alerted to the fraud any number of ways. And even then you have to ignore the fact that he has admitted to many lies here - but that's it, he's telling the truth about everything else! No matter how implausible or insane. Its like a politician - only admit anything they have you absolutely cold on, and deny or keep lying about everything else that can't be absolutely proven.

I was willing to forgive him for making a mistake, but now him and his (obviously very expensive and full-time) PR team are trying to play everyone for fools to save his NFL career, and they should be nailed to the wall.

 

[MHSL82]

I've been trying to avoid this story because it was a stupid mistake from a stupid kid, and the media really piled on, but this absolutely shitstorm of BS that Teo's side is putting out there is more and more pathetic. The line that comes to mind is "if you can't baffle em with brilliance, blind em with bullshit". The problem is that every excuse they use prompts two more questions, so we get two more excuses leading to four more questions, and so on and so on.....

So now we're at the point where they're trying to say he actually spent hours a night on the phone with a *dude* impersonating a woman, and he couldn't tell after how many hours of this? And he's trying to say he didn't know it was a hoax for sure almost a MONTH after Notre Dame did a full investigation? Its just a river of bullshit, even the dumbest MF alive would have been alerted to the fraud any number of ways. And even then you have to ignore the fact that he has admitted to many lies here - but that's it, he's telling the truth about everything else! No matter how implausible or insane. Its like a politician - only admit anything they have you absolutely cold on, and deny or keep lying about everything else that can't be absolutely proven.

I was willing to forgive him for making a mistake, but now him and his (obviously very expensive and full-time) PR team are trying to play everyone for fools to save his NFL career, and they should be nailed to the wall.

As to the bold - Yeah, if it were me, and I were genuinely fooled, once I got a whiff of this being not real, I'd be a pessimist and assume all of it to be fake, not "be in a bubble of uncertainty not knowing what to think." (Paraphrasing)

As far as the guy impersonating a girl, why didn't he just say he talked to a girl and then have the other side say, "no dude it was me." If the other side says nothing, then you can look more credible, or at least, less un-credible. (I don't like using the word "incredible" in this context, it sounds like it means the other use of the word.) Why would he be the one saying it was a computer or something? Makes no sense. Just say you talked to a girl and when someone says no, it's a guy, then say you didn't know that. It seems to be overcompensating to put forward the computerized theory. He said that he heard the girl speak again to tell him about her trying to hide from drug people after the death, in December. Why not stick with the theory that a guy and a girl were involved. Is he trying to save the girl, if there was one, from trouble, saying it's only this guy?