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[Patryn]

The TMZ stuff is just mind blowing if accurate.

Summary for those who are currently unable to click that link?

 

[Lonestar]

The squatter who got Lennay twitter account finally responds (after teasing it for two days) -

https://twitter.com/LennayKay/status/291991188607758336

Gloriouser and gloriouser.

 

[daycru]

I don't know if this has been posted but lol

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
17 Jan 13
Congratulations to Tom Scocca and Timothy Burke of @Deadspin for exposing the Manti Te’o fiasco.
Deadspin
@Deadspin
@realDonaldTrump Go fuck yourself.

DIED

 

[gutshot]

I'm with nVidiot_Whore here. I think Te'o was duped. He lied about the genesis and extent of his relationship because he was embarrassed to admit he was in an online-only relationship. I think he really did think this chick existed and then died. I don't think he knew it was a hoax until Dec. And I think he didn't come out it right away because it is very embarrassing and definitely would have been a big distraction right before the BCS title game.

Honestly, that scenario is much more plausible than the one where the whole thing was an elaborate ruse to garner publicity and win sympathy votes in the Heisman race.

EDIT: Just read the TMZ stories, which seem to further confirm this theory.

 

[iammeiam]

If your Manti and you aren't gay, and really made all this up to get Heisman votes, wouldn't the next logical step be to pretend to be gay? You then all of a sodden become a sympathetic figure, get fame, become a trailblazer, pretend to date guys. Sounds insane to you or I, but if someone is crazy enough to make up a story about a dead girlfriend for attention, it's the next logical step.

If Party Down is to be believed, coming out mid-draft will get him a position with the 49ers and a deal with Abercrombie and Fitch. Worth a shot!

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

 

[flyover]

I'm with nVidiot_Whore here. I think Te'o was duped...

Honestly, that scenario is much more plausible than the one where the whole thing was an elaborate ruse to garner publicity and win sympathy votes in the Heisman race.

If you're going to go with him being duped, it doesn't make sense -- from either his perspective or that of the person(s) perpetrating the hoax -- that it would have gone on for so, so long.

If he was ever the victim of a joke here, it makes more sense to me that he figured it out or the jokers copped to it at some point. But, because he didn't want to look stupid, he kept playing it up and asked the jokers not to let anyone else know. They then decided to "kill" the girlfriend to get the story over with (when a fake breakup would've worked just as well).

I don't think that's what happened, but -- if you go with the "he was duped" story -- that makes the most sense to me. Either that, or he is a monumental dumbshit for not ever figuring it out.

 

[methane47]

I'm with nVidiot_Whore here. I think Te'o was duped. He lied about the genesis and extent of his relationship because he was embarrassed to admit he was in an online-only relationship. I think he really did think this chick existed and then died. I don't think he knew it was a hoax until Dec. And I think he didn't come out it right away because it is very embarrassing and definitely would have been a big distraction right before the BCS title game.

Honestly, that scenario is much more plausible than the one where the whole thing was an elaborate ruse to garner publicity and win sympathy votes in the Heisman race.

Innocent by count of stupidity?

 

[fritolay]

daniel tosh ‏@danieltosh
sorry i've been gone for so long. still very upset that my imaginary girlfriend who died was cheating on me.

 

[desh]

If Manti was duped what is the motivation for the perpetrator to continue this hoax for so long? The only thing I can come up with is that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. was completely obsessed with Manti Te'o and this was his way of manifesting that obsession.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

espn got all the angles covered. there's folks that are outraged, there's folks that fully believe him, there's folks that have no idea what to make of it.

i find it quite funny how they operate. i'd love to work for them.

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

 

[flyover]

If Manti was duped what is the motivation for the perpetrator to continue this hoax for so long?

There really is none. There's never any payoff for the perpetrator in this story, in that case.

 

[flyover]

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

Don't forget "Wilbon, you play fake tough guy who defers to whatever some dumb Hall of Fame athlete feels about the topic."

 

[desh]

There really is none. There's never any payoff for the perpetrator in this story, in that case.

Exactly, the only explanation i can come up with is that the perpetrator (Ronaiah Tuiasosopo) was completely obsessed with Manti Te'o.

 

[dionysus]

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

This is exactly what they do. Former ESPNers talk about it all the time. But, it is also not uncommon in any kind of journalism. Debate is better for ratings than agreement.

 

[DominoKid]

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

actually i'm pretty sure that's what they do. definitely on First Take.

If your Manti and you aren't gay, and really made all this up to get Heisman votes, wouldn't the next logical step be to pretend to be gay? You then all of a sodden become a sympathetic figure, get fame, become a trailblazer, pretend to date guys. Sounds insane to you or I, but if someone is crazy enough to make up a story about a dead girlfriend for attention, it's the next logical step.

that's probably the only way he could come back from it. he'd definitely get the sympathy appeal and the media would turn the incident into a referendum on homophobia in football.

 

[fallagin]

Just saw this in the poligaf thread. :lol

 

[Cheebo]

Exactly, the only explanation i can come up with is that the perpetrator (Ronaiah Tuiasosopo) was completely obsessed with Manti Te'o.

Doesn't really add up still with the fact he never skyped her or face timed with her over 4 years. That is impossible in this day and age. I am afraid there is literally no possibility for him to be a victim.

Pulling the gay card is the only play he has left to survive this.

 

[BigAT]

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

This is pretty much what they do. I remember reading something a few years ago about them forcing John Kruk to say he thought the Padres were going to make the playoffs and to argue their case on Baseball Tonight even though he didn't believe in them even a little. They don't even try to hide it anymore on First Take.

 

[Snaku]

I really don't see what the big deal is about this. I've listened to sports radio get their panties in a bunch over this for two days now and I still couldn't give a single fuck.

 

[Crisco]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bml/notre-dames-reaction-to-the-teo-hoax-vs-its-rea

Nothing new here but does highlight just how scummy Notre Dame is.

 

[flyover]

Doesn't really add up still with the fact he never skyped her or face timed with her over 4 years. That is impossible in this day and age. I am afraid there is literally no possibility for him to be a victim.

Pulling the gay card is the only play he has left to survive this.

If he is gay, then sure. Otherwise, there's no way a straight, Mormon football player would do so.

 

[Seda]

YES

CG Taiwan animation story on Teo!

haha

 

[DY_nasty]

If your Manti and you aren't gay, and really made all this up to get Heisman votes, wouldn't the next logical step be to pretend to be gay? You then all of a sodden become a sympathetic figure, get fame, become a trailblazer, pretend to date guys. Sounds insane to you or I, but if someone is crazy enough to make up a story about a dead girlfriend for attention, it's the next logical step.

Some agent is probably telling him to go for it.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

This is pretty much what they do. I remember reading something a few years ago about them forcing John Kruk to say he thought the Padres were going to make the playoffs and to argue their case on Baseball Tonight even though he didn't believe in them even a little. They don't even try to hide it anymore on First Take.

Damn, I wonder if NBC made Dungy say Joe Webb was good and could beat the packers that pre-game now, haha.

 

[Cat]

As someone who had not followed the matter at all, this is such a bizarre and interesting story. Well, somewhat interesting. I only read little blurbs here and there about it.

 

[kingkitty]

Maybe there was a female accomplice helping fool Manti Teo. When Teo's granny died, she felt guilty continuing this charade, so she killed her imaginary alter ego, against Ronaiah Tuiasosopo's wishes. Manti Teo probably killed Ronaiah's best friend or something, which explains the mean hoax. Or what at least started off with cruel intentions, until the female began to develop true feelings for Teo. But the female accomplice still faked her death, for she knew the man she loves will never love the real her.

However, things started hitting the fan. Despite faking the death of her alter ego, the female accomplice couldn't fight back her feelings and called Teo up from the grave. But the damage was done, Teo and his family notified Notre Dame of the hoax and together they tried to keep this embarrassing information on the hush hush.

Teo wanted to hide the embarrassing fact that he hyped this fake girlfriend who he never met in person despite saying that he has, and also never thinking to use a webcam. Teo might truly be a victim here. A dumb, incredibly naive, gullible person, but a victim nonetheless.

 

[flyover]

I really don't see what the big deal is about this. I've listened to sports radio get their panties in a bunch over this for two days now and I still couldn't give a single fuck.

It's not a big deal at all, really. It's gossipy fun, it's reflective of our celebrity (including sports celebrity) culture and how deferential the media are toward it, and it involves the most popular player at what may be the most popular college team in the country.

And nobody got hurt from it. In fact, fewer people are hurt/dead from it now than were before we knew it was bullshit.

That's why it's a great story.

 

[gutshot]

If you're going to go with him being duped, it doesn't make sense -- from either his perspective or that of the person(s) perpetrating the hoax -- that it would have gone on for so, so long.

If he was ever the victim of a joke here, it makes more sense to me that he figured it out or the jokers copped to it at some point. But, because he didn't want to look stupid, he kept playing it up and asked the jokers not to let anyone else know. They then decided to "kill" the girlfriend to get the story over with (when a fake breakup would've worked just as well).

I don't think that's what happened, but -- if you go with the "he was duped" story -- that makes the most sense to me. Either that, or he is a monumental dumbshit for not ever figuring it out.

It lasted, what, a year? With most of the heavy interaction coming in the couple months leading up to her "death" in Sept. I don't think that is too long.

Maybe he did find out prior to the Dec phone call. I still think it was after the "death". And I think keeping the hoax going was because of embarrassment, not publicity. I think the fear of public embarrassment is much stronger than the allure of possibly gaining a small measure of extra fame (it's not like he was a nobody before this happened).

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

It's not a big deal at all, really. It's gossipy fun, it's reflective of our celebrity (including sports celebrity) culture and how deferential the media are toward it, and it involves the most popular player at what may be the most popular college team in the country.

And nobody got hurt from it. In fact, fewer people are hurt/dead from it now than were before we knew it was bullshit.

That's why it's a great story.

lol. I know. There is no dead girlfriend now! la vita

 

[DominoKid]

Damn, I wonder if NBC made Dungy say Joe Webb was good and could beat the packers that pre-game now, haha.

probably. they had to make people want to watch it for ratings.

 

[Atlagev]

I wonder if they assign the roles, or they have a meeting and get a take on how people really feel about it, and then send them out there.

If would be funny if it was like, hey you Mort, be outraged, Mark, you take sympathy on him, Jerry, take him down.

Again, from someone I know who worked with Skip Bayless: "He's as phony as they come!" Thing is, that was off-air as well as on-air, I believe.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Doesn't really add up still with the fact he never skyped her or face timed with her over 3 years 11/08/2009). That is impossible in this day and age. I am afraid there is literally no possibility for him to be a victim.

Pulling the gay card is the only play he has left to survive this.

And remember, there's at least a third person. The girl "on the phone" every night for almost four years. It's not the T guy (spelling on a phone). So even if you're humoring Mr. T being obsessed with Manti to go this far, there's another female out there with that much dedication, focus, and a cold-blooded heart that was after him too. Obsessed with him, but not in a "I secretly love you" kind of way where you'd think she'd spill the beans at some point after the first few "I love you"s from Manti to be with him. No, obsessed enough to maintain a false relationship with him for years with no guilt, then fake your own death. The December phone call is based on Manti's version of the story, so if you don't hold it as truth, it makes more sense.

There are sick people in the world, but if I was forced to choose between believing that:
1. A close knit Hawaiian community forged a long scam to cover up his homosexuality and things went great until Manti became a Heisman favorite and ND became relevant (at the same time). Only then did the spotlight from the media get intense enough to cause the team to panic and fake her death (and try to hide it with his grandma's). Manti was in on it the whole time.

2. There are people out there (more than one, at least two) who can hate a random (pre-ND, pre-Heisman) person so much as to create a person, fake a relationship, run with it for three years, then break down and admit it mere months before the payoff. Btw, I need help determining what the payoff was, because its clear I believe in #1.

 

[thefro]

So Te'o brought up his girlfriend dying without being directly asked about it during the Heisman Trophy ceremony on ESPN, 2 days after he allegedly got the phone call on the 6th.

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013...-away-at-the-heisman-trophy-presentation.html

Chris Fowler: There were a lot of cameras around you this year, there was so much public sharing of very private moments, which shared moment will you never forget above the others?

Manti Te'o: I think I’ll never forget the time when I found out that, you know, my girlfriend passed away and the first person to run to my aid was my defensive coordinator, Coach [Bob] Diaco, and you know he said something very profound to me, he said ‘this is where your faith is tested.’ Right after that, I ran into the players’ lounge and I got on the phone with my parents – and I opened my eyes and my head coach was sitting right there. And so, you know, there are a hundred-plus people on our team and the defensive coordinator and our head coach took time to just go get one [of those players]. You know I think that was the most meaningful to me.

 

[PBY]

Yeah fuck that. Hes totally guilty.

 

[kingkitty]

So Te'o brought up his girlfriend dying without being directly asked about it during the Heisman Trophy ceremony on ESPN, 2 days after he allegedly got the phone call on the 6th.

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013...-away-at-the-heisman-trophy-presentation.html

Teo, now knowing the sad truth about his fake girlfriend, was caught in a catch 22. He could like, tell the truth but face the wrath of embarrassment. Or he could continue to feed the press bullshit in order to save face but deep inside know he is now continuing a dumb lie that could be leaked.

Poor Manti Teo, the victim, went with the latter.

 

[ronito]

So this was on GMA this morning and they took the tact that he was a poor victim all along. Dunno if I believe that.

 

[alr1ght]

TMZ is talking with the whistleblower "Jan"
http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/17/tmz-live-notre-dame-manti-teo-girlfriend-britney-spears-kobe-bryant/

 

[Cheebo]

Teo, now knowing the sad truth about his fake girlfriend, was caught in a catch 22. He could like, tell the truth but face the wrath of embarrassment. Or he could continue to feed the press bullshit in order to save face but deep inside know he is now continuing a dumb lie that could be leaked.

Poor Manti Teo the victim went with the latter.

It is pretty obvious he knew for a long time. You don't have a girlfriend for that long without ever skypeing once or going to visit her even once, especially when she was to his knowledge dying.

He has no defense or anything even slightly believable to back up his claim he was duped.

 

[gutshot]

And remember, there's at least a third person. The girl "on the phone" every night for almost four years. It's not the T guy (spelling on a phone). So even if you're humoring Mr. T being obsessed with Manti to go this far, there's another female out there with that much dedication, focus, and a cold-blooded heart that was after him too. Obsessed with him, but not in a "I secretly love you" kind of way where you'd think she'd spill the beans at some point after the first few "I love you"s from Manti to be with him. No, obsessed enough to maintain a false relationship with him for years with no guilt, then fake your own death. The December phone call is based on Manti's version of the story, so if you don't hold it as truth, it makes more sense.

There are sick people in the world, but if I was forced to choose between believing that:
1. A close knit Hawaiian community forged a long scam to cover up his homosexuality and things went great until Manti became a Heisman favorite and ND became relevant (at the same time). Only then did the spotlight from the media get intense enough to cause the team to panic and fake her death (and try to hide it with his grandma's). Manti was in on it the whole time.

2. There are people out there (more than one, at least two) who can hate a random (pre-ND, pre-Heisman) person so much as to create a person, fake a relationship, run with it for three years, then break down and admit it mere months before the payoff. Btw, I need help determining what the payoff was, because its clear I believe in #1.

The "relationship" only lasted for about a year. The original 2009 meeting was a fabrication.

And I don't think Tuiasosopo hates Manti Te'o. I think he just gets off on fooling/pranking people. See the TMZ story where he goes to great lengths to fool some random ND fan.

 

[el retorno]

TMZ is talking with the whistleblower "Jan"
http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/17/tmz-live-notre-dame-manti-teo-girlfriend-britney-spears-kobe-bryant/

says he was duped. Still doesn't add up the phone calls, and him bringing up the girlfriend back up. He also knew the kid so Im gonna go with the fact something would have gotten out. It could have started with a prank but somewhere he found out and went with it. He had to have found out before december and continued the lies in the media.

 

[PBY]

The "relationship" only lasted for about a year. The original 2009 meeting was a fabrication.

And I don't think Tuiasosopo hates Manti Te'o. I think he just gets off on fooling/pranking people. See the TMZ story where he goes to great lengths to fool some random ND fan.

Yeah this is beyond a prank.

 

[entremet]

Don't lie if you get famous, kids. The internet will find you out.

 

[RS4-]

Christ when I was reading the dead spin article I was hoping that it wouldn't be a shymalan twist where his fake gf was his grandma

 

[alr1ght]

ESPN spoke with some people on campus and got the impression that everyone knew it was a fake the whole time.

 

[flyover]

Yeah this is beyond a prank.

Yup. No prankster goes on for this long, and gets others to help, and keeps the prank going for months after it's technically already over -- all for no payoff.

 

[LyleLanley]

ESPN spoke with some people on campus and got the impression that everyone knew it was a fake the whole time.

I heard that too but it felt like something some "anonymous source" would say after the fact. If they really had such an impression how come not a single person said anything up until now?

 

[mre]

ESPN spoke with some people on campus and got the impression that everyone knew it was a fake the whole time.

God damn right. The whole University is complicit.

 

[el retorno]

ESPN spoke with some people on campus and got the impression that everyone knew it was a fake the whole time.

How the hell did nobody come forward? Are catholic insitutions really that obsessed with covering up for their own?

 

[kingkitty]

It is pretty obvious he knew for a long time. You don't have a girlfriend for that long without ever skypeing once or going to visit her even once, especially when she was to his knowledge dying.

He has no defense or anything even slightly believable to back up his claim he was duped.

Well if there's a female accomplice, the skyping portion could be done. Doesn't explain why he would go steady with a girl he has never met in person nor webcam'ed.

So yeah, either Teo is a gullible, innocent moron. Or a dirty fame whore.