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Deadspin: (Notre Dame football player) Manti Teos Dead Girlfriend is a hoax
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goldsoundz
Member
The story that keeps on giving. This is the most bizarre prank in the history of pranks.
It's obvious that he grossly misrepresented the nature of his relationship with Lennay. Like you, I don't understand why he did that and why he continues to do it.
I really don't think he's as crazy as some of us have speculated in the past, so why did he do it? Why tell anyone about a person you've never met? That's one of the big loose ends on the hoaxed story.
http://t.co/kqNaYTUQ
Fixed, and yesterday, all we had to go on was a statement from Roniah through his lawyer. This new info is corroborated by the girl's family. They say Roniah lied to protect her. They don't explain why she decided to get involved in the first place.
I get why the guy did it. Mully and MIMIC posted anecdotes, but I have one that's similarish to Roniah's craziness.
When I was around 11, I pretended that I was a chick in video chat rooms for obvious reasons. I didn't have the capacity to cope with the fact that, at the time, I preferred churros over donuts. And I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness, so I wasn't going to tell anyone about my feelings. I never became emotionally involved with anyone, and I grew out of that BS about a year later, but I get what the Tuiasosopo was going through. Add to the fact that he's mentally ill and socially stunted, it's no surprise that this got out of hand.
(A link to the DListed article from where I pulled Tuiasosopo's feelings. Like Michael K. says, Tuiasosopo chose one awkward way to come out.)
What I don't understand, and this is the same question I have for Manti, is why he got family involved.
PotatoeMasher
Member
Yeah. Dude is apparently trying to shoulder all of the blame, even claiming he was doing a lady voice on the phone.
So we're now in full-blown can't believe anything anyone says mode.
Saint Gregory
Member
Oh that's bullshit, they just charged me $79.99 for my imaginary girlfriend last week
Man, I hope this guy can have a great career so he's not just remembered for this...
timetokill
Banned
Doesn't matter what he does. He will ALWAYS be the imaginary girlfriend guy.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Imagine if he wins the super bowl 10 years from now.
Joe Buck announcing.
"THIS TREMENDOUSLY...BRAVE YOUNG MAN...WHO OVERCAME HEARTBREAK AND EMBARRASSMENT... TO BECOME ONE OF THE TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS IN THIS LEAGUE... FINALLY GETS SOME MEASURE OF REDEMPTION."
Jackben
bitch I'm taking calls.
joeygreco1985
Member
You'd think a college football star could find a relationship on his campus instead of this "girlfriend I've never met in person" bullshit. That's why I think it was all a giant lie to look good for the heisman run, and now it's blowing up in his face resulting in even MORE lies.
What a shit show.
What a shit show.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
So for all we know he "COULD" be lying about other things too right? What stops him from taking the fall for Manti too? Who's to say that Te'O didn't have more involvement in someway and RT is taking the fall?
Future PhaZe
Member
And you'd think a wealthy person would have no reason to commit suicide. But it happens.
EVERYONE has their own insecurities, issues, weirdness, etc. for whatever reason. Just because he's a football star doesn't mean he doesn't have his own personal problems. That's what happens when celebrities are publicized by the media 24/7. Everyone and their mother knows what's best for them and has their own special brand advice for someone that they never met and don't know a single thing about.
(EDIT: I know it kinda sounds like I'm going to war for this guy, but I just feel that he's being completely misrepresented after trying to, what I feel, cover up his embarrassment by lying in an attempt to quell suspicion about being the victim of a hoax. A lot of people think that that is enough to discount everything he's ever said, but I don't)
Like how much more involvement? I mean, we already have the characters of the hoax revealing themselves. Either you believe them or believe what you want basically. We already have people claiming that the phone records were fabricated and that Te'o's team sought out a random girl to pose as "the voice". Turns out that girl is not so random and is actually the cousin of the hoaxer.
Unless Manti's team is committed to the lie and specifically sought out a relative of the hoaxer to make her seem more credible......
Saint Gregory
Member
You mean the exact same group of people that said that RT was posing as Lennay up until yesterday? Look, I don't personally believe that Te'o was deeply involved in this hoax from the beginning but I'm still surprised that there are people with enough faith to give these people the benefit of the doubt after they've all told lie after lie after lie.
I don't understand. Which group of people?
AstroNut325
Member
Is there a summary on this ordeal?
Saint Gregory
Member
RT's camp claimed that RT was the one who spent hours on the phone with Te'o. Te'o's camp releases voicemails that sound like a woman and now RT's camp changes their story to fit this.
This all seems normal to you? I must be a conspiracy nut for real then.
Manti Te'o & Notre Dame PR machine: I met this girl Lennay Kekua in 2009 and we were friends. Then a year ago we were dating. And then she and my grandma died on the same day on Sept 12, 2011.
Vast Majority of Sports Media: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Deadspin: Lennay Kekua never existed.
It was Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. The girl in the pics is a girl who went to the same high school as Ronaiah. He tricked her into sending him a special pic, too. And Manti Te'o probably knew.
Notre Dame: J/K LULZ. Ya Manti got a call on Dec 6 from the same person he was talking to, saying "I'm alive!" He told us on Dec 26. We didn't say anything cause we wanted to let Manti and his family say it first, on their own timeline. Oh, and we investigated this, too. We KNOW Manti wasn't in on it!
Mainstream Media: Uhhh... so he didn't tell you until 20 days later?
And even after that, continued to tie to the nation about her?
And didn't he and his dad say they met in person?
Manti Te'o: I'm really embarrassed. I don't wanna talk about it.
Public: So, let's see the phone records. Notre Dame said they investigated.
Notre Dame: What? Uh... we didn't check into phone records or anything. We just looked up some stuff online.
Manti Te'o: I lied about meeting her. And I lied about her existence. I was embarrassed.
Mainstream Media: Girl in the pic is Diane O'Meara. She says she never met Manti Te'o.
ESPN: Yeah it was Ronaiah alright. And Manti didn't know. We have an anonymous source that said he confessed to her. Ronaiah stressed that Manti didn't know!
Agent of both Katie Couric and Manti Te'o: You two, do an interview.
Katie Couric: Man, you're dumb.
Manti Te'o: Yeah, I know.
ESPN: Manti didn't know! We have an anonymous source who gave us a spreadsheet showing the phone calls between him and the person he thought was Lennay Kekua. He didn't know!
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo via His Lawyer: Ya it was me. I faked the female voice. I'm an actor.
Mainstream Media: Ronaiah's cousin Tino was the real voice of Lennay Kekua, not Ronaiah.
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo's Lawyer: No comment.
Honestly? It sounds like RT was trying to take the blame for everyone who helped him coordinate the hoax ("The buck stops with me", so to speak). For all we know, there could be others involved. Perhaps RT sent people to spy on Te'o. I just think that he's contrite after being revealed to America as a complete psychopath. Something like that will make you want to get on people's good side.
That's the only reason I could imagine that RT's camp maintained one thing then changed it to another. BUT, not being completely forthcoming DOES erode their already suspect credibility.
(to be honest, I don't think we'll ever know the full scope of this thing since there were no laws broken and no one's gonna be subpenaed or anything)
But I wasn't trying to give the benefit of the doubt to RT. He's the guilty one, after all. I was just talking about Te'o.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
So after every lie that we find out, why do you keep thinking that it's the last lie?
Saint Gregory
Member
That's kind of been my big problem with everything that's happened since the Deadspin article broke. The stuff that happened during the season I understand, I don't believe that Te'o ever intended for this story about his dead girlfriend to be the defining news story of ND's season and it clearly got away from him. But since the hoax was reported every single piece of information that's come from both Te'o's camp and RT's camp seems to have the single purpose of supporting whatever the spin happens to be for that particular day, whether it makes sense or not.
It seems oddly convenient when you consider the kind of psycho RT would have to be to play such a cruel prank on someone over the course of several years. Maybe he really is just incredibly contrite about what he's done but it's amazingly responsible for him to act without any sense of self preservation and throw himself on the sword for everyone else involved with the hoax after acting so irresponsibly. He's probably cost Manti millions of dollars in draft placement because of this fiasco yet he seems to have no fear of reprisal by trying to take sole responsibility for everything.
That's the point.
Everyone involved is lying. And they're still lying. You don't know what's the truth or what's a lie other than what makes the most sense to you, and then you build a case in your head for why that's the truth and then you settle for it. They'll lie or adjust their story until a final story seems mostly plausible and the story dies down as a result.
That's what's happening now, as "new details" emerge from Teo and the hoaxers camps, then people are like "wait, that doesn't seem right", then they go "ok, ok, this is the truth, we just said that because I was trying to protect x / I was embarrassed / the investigation was going on / I didn't want to distract x / _____________.
Saint Gregory
Member
You left out "Uh... that was a transcription error" but otherwise that's spot on.
Well apparently both Lennay and Alabama's offense have questioned his existence.
Equus Bellator Apex
Junior Member
Do we have definitive proof that Manto Te'o is real himself?
I mean has any one of us seen him in person?
I mean has any one of us seen him in person?
Ken Masters
Banned
Why are people actually entertaining the idea he was duped, Jesus Christ
Watch ESPN and they act like he's the victim
Watch ESPN and they act like he's the victim
I'm just saying, he's gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I guess Opie and Anthony are offering $25,000 to any girl that can prove that she had sex with Manti.
It's like lies on top of lies, and the only time that happens is when someone is hiding some truth that's far worse than the lies.
I guess Opie and Anthony are offering $25,000 to any girl that can prove that she had sex with Manti.
It's like lies on top of lies, and the only time that happens is when someone is hiding some truth that's far worse than the lies.
I watched the national title game, but he didn't show up.
AstroNut325
Member
WHOA... just... WHOA...
My mind.... is boggled! HOW.... WHY...
Nevermind... I want to keep my sanity.
Thank you good sir the explanation.
Can a moderator post this awesome summary in the OP?
Ken Masters
Banned
WHOA... just... WHOA...
My mind.... is boggled! HOW.... WHY...
Nevermind... I want to keep my sanity.
Thank you good sir the explanation.
Can a moderator post this awesome summary in the OP?
Manti's family can't get their BS story straight
But why the fuck is ESPN in the bag so damn much for this guy?
"Every lie"? As far as I know, Te'o's only lie was claiming that the fake girlfriend was still alive. What else did he lie about?
True. That's why I don't give HIM the benefit of the doubt. I'd LIKE to believe that he's taking responsibility for his actions, but after the shit storm he caused, he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
But you bring up an interesting point....which is why I'm still on Te'o's side...for now, at least:
I assume that before Te'o learned of the hoax that he was using his "girlfriend" as a way to motivate himself and his team, and NFL teams probably found that endearing....which bolstered his draft stock. They're talking about how great this guy is and what a great addition he would be to Team X and can't wait to get this heavy-hearted, nice guy on board.
But...uh oh! The girlfriend is fake. A lot of what the teams liked about him was based on a lie and the teams themselves feel duped. What does he do? He can either come clean and HOPE that the NFL doesn't take his naivete into account and label him as an immature liability that they'd rather not risk millions of dollars on (and might assume that he did it just to make himself more attractive as a draft prospect), OR he can keep the lie going and hope that no one uncovers the real truth (which means that he'll be telling one lie after another).
Basically, he's fucked either way. This RT guy screwed him majorly and handed Te'o a true dilemma. THAT'S why I sympathize with him. Nothing good would have come from his predicament....and it's all because some guy decided to have some fun at the expense of another's career.
yankeehater
Member
Meeting her for one.
Ken Masters
Banned
To lie about that means he was knew about the hoax from the start
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
MIMIC he lied to the media about meeting her at the Stanford football game and them gazing each other in their eyes the first time they saw each other in person.
Obviously that never happened. Why did he lie about that?
kidtamagotchi
Member
Pristine_Condition
Member
Because ESPN isn't interested in journalism or having journalistic standards. They are an entertainment company that sells packaged multimedia sports-based entertainment product, not journalism. This is the company line. Sometimes, they even admit that this is the company line.
ESPN, since they aren't bound by these journalistic standards, will play the "we'll tell your story the way you want it told in exchange for access" game on a national level. Used to be it was only the college town papers and radio outlets that would allow themselves to get bullied in such a manner by the big Universities' SIDs...
I misspoke when I asked that question (Te'o never suggested that his girlfriend was still alive after learning of her alleged death)
And I'd group that kind of lie under one big category of similar ones; lying about meeting her, lying about what she looks like, how her hair smells, etc., that's all one big like that aims to give evidence of her existence.
All details of one big lie.
Like I said, once he found out about the hoax, he could either come clean and be at the mercy of the NFL and his team's (and the public's) understanding, or try to keep it going to evade suspicion.
He chose the latter.
He was already in too deep so either way, he would come out looking like a fool and a liar. If he chose to come clean, people would STILL be pissed and consider him as a liar. Wasn't there some Leukemia fund going on in Lennay's name? If he came clean to begin with, there would STILL have been money collected fraudulently and the people who donated probably would be angry and claim that Te'o made the whole thing up.
I don't see how NOT lying would have made things any better. I mean, what do you all suggest that he should have done after learning of the hoax?
That's quite a leap in logic. What if he thought he got stood up or something? That has happened to a guy I know.
"Oh, she had some emergency and had to cut it really short" when we all knew the truth.
Uh...interesting morality system you've got there. Is that how you lead your life?
I'm definitely not suggesting that he should have lied; I'm just saying that it wouldn't have made a difference.
Like I asked, what would you have advised him to do under types of circumstances? Because I don't see him coming out good in any scenario.
I would have gotten in front of it. I will grant you that it is not a great situation, but it would have been much better than the one he currently finds himself in. The cover-up only makes things worse.
Personally the fact that he lied about the situation before AND after makes him completely lose any credibility with me. I've got to imagine there are at least some people that matter (NFL folks) that feel the same way.
Puppet Shadow
Member
This. Assuming he wasn't in on it, the second he found out it was a hoax, he would immediately stop talking about it and hope it goes away, not continue bring it up at every opportunity.
You only do that if you're guilty, and you're stupid enough to think you can still get away with it.
He's a very-religious guy. I'm guessing he's a virgin but that doesn't mean he's gay
He's either lied extensively about the depth of his relationship with this woman because it gave him good press, or he is someone who allowed the love of his life to waste away with cancer without ever once trying to visit her in the hospital.
I'm not sure why you think he deserves such sympathy.
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