Deadspin Manti Te'o Story

[skatingtripods]

This is a long read, but it's an unbelievable story:

http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos- ... -is-a-hoax

[Hikohadon]

Helluva way to try and drum up Heisman support.

If true, of course, but I have no trouble believing it.

[gotribe31]

If Burfict went undrafted, so should Te'o

[Hikohadon]

If Burfict went undrafted, so should Te'o

He drops to the 3rd and I snap him up.

Don't really care that he's a soulless douchebag. Most of 'em probably are anyway. Not hiring him to tutor my children.

[mattvan1]

If Burfict went undrafted, so should Te'o

He drops to the 3rd and I snap him up.

Don't really care that he's a soulless douchebag. Most of 'em probably are anyway. Not hiring him to tutor my children.

What about the fact he can't play?

[CAVSTRIBEBROWNSin07!]

Wow. Just wow. This might be the craziest sports story ever.

[Hikohadon]

http://www.isportstimes.com/articles/5287/20130116/manti-teo-dead-girlfriend-hoax-deadspin-lennay-kekua.htm

Notre Dame releases statement stating Manti is victim of a hoax.

Not sure who buys THAT, and wow for Notre Dame getting involved in the CYA after what happened at Penn State last year.

[Hikohadon]

If Burfict went undrafted, so should Te'o

He drops to the 3rd and I snap him up.

Don't really care that he's a soulless douchebag. Most of 'em probably are anyway. Not hiring him to tutor my children.

What about the fact he can't play?

I'm not sure how that would stop them from taking him.

I think he can play well enough for a 3rd rounder. Maybe 4th.

[HoodooMan]

http://www.isportstimes.com/articles/5287/20130116/manti-teo-dead-girlfriend-hoax-deadspin-lennay-kekua.htm

Notre Dame releases statement stating Manti is victim of a hoax.

Not sure who buys THAT...

(raises hand)

More likely scenario:

A) Dumb LB is fooled for a year into thinking he has a girlfriend he's never met.

or

B) Dumb LB and his fellow conspirator spend A YEAR setting this all up before starting to exploit it.

Both seem pretty Fing unbelievable, but I'm leaning towards A being a smidgen less so.

[Hikohadon]

http://www.isportstimes.com/articles/5287/20130116/manti-teo-dead-girlfriend-hoax-deadspin-lennay-kekua.htm

Notre Dame releases statement stating Manti is victim of a hoax.

Not sure who buys THAT...

(raises hand)

More likely scenario:

A) Dumb LB is fooled for a year into thinking he has a girlfriend he's never met.

or

B) Dumb LB and his fellow conspirator spend A YEAR setting this all up before starting to exploit it.

Both seem pretty Fing unbelievable, but I'm leaning towards A being a smidgen less so.

I would say go back and read the article again and some of the quotes attributed to Te'o about the girl and then tell me you still believe that he was just hoaxed.

[HoodooMan]

"My girlfriend, when she was at St. Jude's in LA, she had a little friend."

"All she wanted was some white roses. So I sent her roses and sent her two picks along with that."

^Only direct quotes I could find on a skim.

-Dumb LB

-"We spoke with friends and relatives of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who asserted that Ronaiah was the man behind Lennay. He created Lennay in 2008, one source said, and Te'o wasn't the first person to have an online "relationship" with her. One mark—who had been "introduced" to Lennay by Tuiasosopo—lasted about a month before family members grew suspicious that Lennay could never be found on the telephone, and that wherever one expected Lennay to be, Ronaiah was there instead."

-"Mostly, though, the friend simply couldn't believe that Te'o would be stupid enough—or Ronaiah Tuiasosopo clever enough—to sustain the relationship for nearly a year."

<--can

[HoodooMan]

And he's Mormon.

[Hikohadon]

And he's Mormon.

Ah, well then he must be innocent.

The timeline of the South Bend Tribune doesn't jive at all. Who provided them with this timeline?

Girlfriend dies in car accident. You don't talk to her parents? Her friends? You don't Facetime the funeral? You don't visit the grave?

Don't buy it. If you want to, enjoy.

PS - this quote:

-"Mostly, though, the friend simply couldn't believe that Te'o would be stupid enough—or Ronaiah Tuiasosopo clever enough—to sustain the relationship for nearly a year."

Means the friend thought he was in on it.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

Dude had a long distance relationship with someone so close he turned into Superman the Saturday after she died. Yet he never met her face to face. Never Skyped. It was all a hoax. Well, okay then.

[HoodooMan]

And he's Mormon.

Ah, well then he must be innocent.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He's Mormon.

He and his family have already been duped by ONE elaborate hoax. Why not another?

So you'd have me believe that in October of 2011, Manti and this kid get together and fake a relationship for a year, using an account that dates back to 2008 that the other kid's already use to dupe someone else, so that the two of them can fake the fake girlfriend's death the next season...why, exactly? Because Manti knows his faked tragedy will coincide with ND's undefeated season, and knowing that, he'll enjoy a windfall of exposure, and enjoying that, he'll skyrocket up NFL draft boards?

I'm sticking with Dumb LB thinks he has a girlfriend half a country away, but someone's really just F'ing with him. (At least as a less unbelievable story.)

[bac5665]

I just read a theory that T'eo and the Tiuasusopo kid created the girl to cover up their own relationship, families being religious and all. Makes more sense then anything else I've heard, and is pretty tragic.

[Hikohadon]

And he's Mormon.

Ah, well then he must be innocent.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He's Mormon.

He and his family have already been duped by ONE elaborate hoax. Why not another?

Well, for me, that goes for anyone believing in any religion, but I getcha now, and good line.

Because Manti knows his faked tragedy will coincide with ND's undefeated season, and knowing that, he'll enjoy a windfall of exposure, and enjoying that, he'll skyrocket up NFL draft boards?

Hey, he's a dumb LB.

My personal thought was that this had more to do with his Heisman campaign than anything involving the draft or ND's undefeated season, but I still find the idea more plausible than having an invisible girlfriend who then dies (invisibly) and this doesn't seem odd to even the dumbest dude.

But it did work on Karla in an episode of Cheers, so I guess anything is possible. No way is Karla dumb.

[bookelly]

Most elaborate troll of all time if true.

If true.

[Hikohadon]

I just read a theory that T'eo and the Tiuasusopo kid created the girl to cover up their own relationship, families being religious and all. Makes more sense then anything else I've heard, and is pretty tragic.

Then why "kill" her off, and in such a public way?

If they were trying to "hide" their "forbidden love", there would be so many better ways to do it.

Even a repressed homosexual suicide pact would make more sense. Then their dads could stand over their coffins with a football and tell the world "I love my dead gay son!"

[bac5665]

The theory goes, they killed her off so that people wouldn't try and bring her to games, send her to ESPN, etc., on the grounds that ND boosters are crazy.

I'm not saying that they did the smartest thing. I'm not even sure I'm advocating this theory. I am saying that I think it makes more sense than any other scenario out there.

[HoodooMan]

There has to at least be some traceable evidence out there that could help point in one direction or the other.

He says he sent her flowers. There should be some record of this somewhere, right?

If they talked on the phone, phone records, etc...

[Larvell Blanks]

I just read a theory that T'eo and the Tiuasusopo kid created the girl to cover up their own relationship, families being religious and all. Makes more sense then anything else I've heard, and is pretty tragic.

Then why "kill" her off, and in such a public way?

If they were trying to "hide" their "forbidden love", there would be so many better ways to do it.

Even a repressed homosexual suicide pact would make more sense. Then their dads could stand over their coffins with a football and tell the world "I love my dead gay son!"

R.I.P. Ram!

[Larvell Blanks]

George O'Leary believs Manti would never lie

[Hikohadon]

There has to at least be some traceable evidence out there that could help point in one direction or the other.

He says he sent her flowers. There should be some record of this somewhere, right?

If they talked on the phone, phone records, etc...

I agree. If Manti is telling the truth, there will probably be a way he can prove it. Like where he sent the flowers (if he sent flowers).

If he's full of shit, there'll be evidence for that too.

Now that Pandora's box is opened, lotta shit gonna hit the fan.

[motherscratcher]

The theory goes, they killed her off so that people wouldn't try and bring her to games, send her to ESPN, etc., on the grounds that ND boosters are crazy.

I'm not saying that they did the smartest thing. I'm not even sure I'm advocating this theory. I am saying that I think it makes more sense than any other scenario out there.

Even then wouldn't the first, obvious, choice be to, you know...break up? Won't that be a lot less scrutiny than killing off car crash leukemia girl?

[bookelly]

The theory goes, they killed her off so that people wouldn't try and bring her to games, send her to ESPN, etc., on the grounds that ND boosters are crazy.

I'm not saying that they did the smartest thing. I'm not even sure I'm advocating this theory. I am saying that I think it makes more sense than any other scenario out there.

Even then wouldn't the first, obvious, choice be to, you know...break up? Won't that be a lot less scrutiny than killing off car crash leukemia girl?

We may have a case of mental illness going on here. Just saw a brief part of the ESPN interview Teo did after the death. He seems a bit crazy IMHO.

[idoctribefan]

According to the South Bend Tribune (according to Deadspin) Te'o met Lennay after a Stanford/Notre Dame game in 2009. I don't see a direct quote from a specific person that says that, but they must've gotten that from either Manti or a family member. So if this WAS a trick played on Manti, doesn't that mean that whoever was pulling this stunt got a female involved to meet with him? And Manti was able to see these Twitter pictures from this real woman in Torrance, CA, right? Wouldn't he have been able to tell it wasn't the same woman he met in Palo Alto in 2009?

My initial inclination is to believe that Manti and this Ronaiah were involved in this hoax together. That is assuming that this South Bend newspaper is accurate in stating that Manti claimed he had met her before. If he never claimed to have met her, then I'd be more inclined to give Manti the benefit of the doubt initially.

[peeker643]

I remember when Hawkeye and Trapper came up with this plan 30 years ago to get supplies for the orphanage. All those tears when Captain Tuttle was laid to rest.

[idoctribefan]

Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame AD) wrapping up a presser now. You can watch it from the beginning at nbcsports.com

[e0y2e3]

The most amazing part of all of this....

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... ently-hoax

ESPN actually sourced Deadspin. ESPN hates sourcing ANY other site and usually falls behind their "sources report" BS, but in this instance they were forced to not only source someone else, but the website that they hate more than any other.

[HoodooMan]

According to the South Bend Tribune (according to Deadspin) Te'o met Lennay after a Stanford/Notre Dame game in 2009. I don't see a direct quote from a specific person that says that, but they must've gotten that from either Manti or a family member. So if this WAS a trick played on Manti, doesn't that mean that whoever was pulling this stunt got a female involved to meet with him? And Manti was able to see these Twitter pictures from this real woman in Torrance, CA, right? Wouldn't he have been able to tell it wasn't the same woman he met in Palo Alto in 2009?

Manti could have lied about lots of things while still having been duped, too--if he was embarrassed about what he thought was the "true" nature of his relationship.

"Hey, Mom & Dad, I met this great new girl on Twitter/after the Stanford game." Which is an easier message, do you think?

[FUDU]

The theory goes, they killed her off so that people wouldn't try and bring her to games, send her to ESPN, etc., on the grounds that ND boosters are crazy.

I'm not saying that they did the smartest thing. I'm not even sure I'm advocating this theory. I am saying that I think it makes more sense than any other scenario out there.

Even then wouldn't the first, obvious, choice be to, you know...break up? Won't that be a lot less scrutiny than killing off car crash leukemia girl?

We may have a case of mental illness going on here. Just saw a brief part of the ESPN interview Teo did after the death. He seems a bit crazy IMHO.

He's got some guns too!

[Bayou Tribe]

Jadeveon Clowny's latest tweet...

"...Mantei Teo has 99 problems but a girl ain't one."

[e0y2e3]

Also, DooDoo:

"In an interview with ESPN for "College GameDay" on Oct. 2, Te'o said that Kekua's last words to him were "I love you." He also said that she was "the most beautiful girl I've ever met.""

That doesn't really jive with dumb football player.

[idoctribefan]

According to the South Bend Tribune (according to Deadspin) Te'o met Lennay after a Stanford/Notre Dame game in 2009. I don't see a direct quote from a specific person that says that, but they must've gotten that from either Manti or a family member. So if this WAS a trick played on Manti, doesn't that mean that whoever was pulling this stunt got a female involved to meet with him? And Manti was able to see these Twitter pictures from this real woman in Torrance, CA, right? Wouldn't he have been able to tell it wasn't the same woman he met in Palo Alto in 2009?

Manti could have lied about lots of things while still having been duped, too--if he was embarrassed about what he thought was the "true" nature of his relationship.

"Hey, Mom & Dad, I met this great new girl on Twitter/after the Stanford game." Which is an easier message, do you think?

In Swarbrick's presser, he takes a question from a reporter who asks about Manti previously claiming to have met the woman. Swarbrick says he asked Manti about that and Manti gave him a good explanation, which Manti will eventually reveal to the public in due time.

[dem425]

Deadspin now reporting that T'eo and Ronaiah and Lennay were all allegedly seen together the weekend after she had "died" at some bar named Ber'nais..........

[Hikohadon]

According to the South Bend Tribune (according to Deadspin) Te'o met Lennay after a Stanford/Notre Dame game in 2009. I don't see a direct quote from a specific person that says that, but they must've gotten that from either Manti or a family member. So if this WAS a trick played on Manti, doesn't that mean that whoever was pulling this stunt got a female involved to meet with him? And Manti was able to see these Twitter pictures from this real woman in Torrance, CA, right? Wouldn't he have been able to tell it wasn't the same woman he met in Palo Alto in 2009?

Manti could have lied about lots of things while still having been duped, too--if he was embarrassed about what he thought was the "true" nature of his relationship.

"Hey, Mom & Dad, I met this great new girl on Twitter/after the Stanford game." Which is an easier message, do you think?

In Swarbrick's presser, he takes a question from a reporter who asks about Manti previously claiming to have met the woman. Swarbrick says he asked Manti about that and Manti gave him a good explanation, which Manti will eventually reveal to the public in due time.

When he thinks of it.

Life experience has taught me that in such situations you just stop and say "You know what, I fucked up. I did XYZ and I have no idea what the fuck I was thinking. I fully accept all the criticism that comes my way, beat me the fuck up so we can all move on with our lives."

There is NO way that happens, however. Like the 10 zillion guys that got caught in a lie before him, he'll try to lie his way out of it.

[HoodooMan]

"Kekua's last words" = "Some chick on the phone's last words"

"Most beautiful girl I ever met" = "I met her on the Twitterz, you know."

Either direction feels like a stretch to me. I'm just having a really hard time imaging two 20 yr olds putting so much time and effort into something like this. One 20 yr old fucking with another 20 yr old, and putting that much time and effort into it--THAT, I buy. The guy had to be fucking rollin' off his chair several times a day. But two 20 yr olds saying "This would be some funny shit! OK, we've got it going. Now, we should totally start fucking with people...in about a year from now. Yeah, this is going to be hilarious...in about a year from now. For now, we wait."





















































"Aaaaaaaaand wait."

...

[e0y2e3]

As you said upthread, the phone thing is what throws me.

This was a GUY running this entire thing, no one has any evidence of a girl being involved yet, etc.

So now you get to the stretches that are:

1) Te'o never actually spoke with this girl and had nothing more than a Twitter relationship w/ THE LOVEZ OF HIS LIFE!!$!!!

2) A third person was a part of all of this and a fake phone buddy (8 HOUR PHONE CONVERSATIONS!!!!), which if true you would think ND would have already found this chick and paraded her around to prove just how blatantly DUPED America's Favorite Mormon was!

[HoodooMan]

^Roniah on the left.

[pod2dawg]

Yea, things really have changed since I went to college. All my football friends had multiple "girlfriends" . The Mormons had no problem having several. It was strange the All-American safety sure fire first round draft pick somehow had more women ( real not perceived) than anyone else.

.....dumb LB

[e0y2e3]

I mean after Brandon Davies was kicked off BYU's team for getting with his GF I can understand why a mormon would want an online relationship.....

It's the one thing that makes some sense about the DUPED!$!!@ theory.

[scott]

Deadspin now reporting that T'eo and Ronaiah and Lennay were all allegedly seen together the weekend after she had "died" at some bar named Ber'nais..........

Don't see this on Deadspin right now. Not saying they aren't reporting it......


So I totally buy the 'he was duped and had a fake GF online for a year' story. He made up the met after Stanford game so his teammates didn't think he had an online GF. And sure, he made more of it than it was after she died, explains the 'love of my life' bs. All seems plausible and the most obvious answer is probably the true one.

But, say you do fall in love with a girl online. Talk to her most nights for a year. She dies. You never call and speak to her parents? You don't make an effort to get out to Cali after the game? Is he really that dense?

What we know so far doesn't add up.

Which throws up more red flags for an NFL team about to draft?

1) LB perpetrates this whole ridiculous hoax with a friend.
2) LB is so dumb he has a fake online GF for a year?

[e0y2e3]

The other thing, this guy isn't going to survive an NFL locker-room.

His career may be dead before it starts.

Just read how hard Clowney is trolling him on Twitter right now, that shit is going to be child's play.

[peeker643]

His chick wasn't from Niagara Falls, was she?

[peeker643]

Guys, I have to come clean. There is no motherscratcher. I made him up. I figured creating an over-the-top ass hat like that would have tipped you all off but when it didn't, well, I decided to run with it and have some fun, see how ridiculous I could go. Rambling, incoherent posts, cartoon character nature, all of it a sham.

I don't know who should be more ashamed, me for perpetrating that ridiculous board presence here or you guys for falling for it. Seriously, how many dentists are that dopey and have that much time for tomfoolery.

You're all idiots.

[FUDU]

Lmao

[e0y2e3]

:-(

[pod2dawg]

Guys, I have to come clean. There is no motherscratcher. I made him up. I figured creating an over-the-top ass hat like that would have tipped you all off but when it didn't, well, I decided to run with it and have some fun, see how ridiculous I could go. Rambling, incoherent posts, cartoon character nature, all of it a sham.

I don't know who should be more ashamed, me for perpetrating that ridiculous board presence here or you guys for falling for it. Seriously, how many dentists are that dopey and have that much time for tomfoolery.

You're all idiots.

that's f%^^^cking funny.

[leadpipe]

Morman Shmorman. The star linebacker of an undeafeated Notre Dame squad has GOT to be throwing the hammer down live and in stereo.

If he's not, for the love of TD Jesus, what an underachiever.

What the hell do I know. I wasn't there, but the cats who usually have the time to fall into a deep online relationship, well, as a rule they don't have drunken college coeds forming a handjob line outside the dorm.

Appears he doesn't do well in space on or off the field.