Five things we learned during Manti Te’o's interview with Katie Couric
By macleans.ca - Friday, January 25, 2013 - 0 Comments
Highlights of the he said-(s)he said-she’s dead saga
Last week there was Lance and Oprah. This week? Manti and Katie.
Here are five things we learned about the he said-(s)he said-she’s dead saga during the latest prime-time confessional:
1. T’eo said his online girlfriend left him “I just called to say I love you,” voicemails, which Couric played during the hourlong interview.
2. Te’o says he tried several times to meet Lennay Kekua in person: Continue…
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Manti Te’o tells ESPN he was not part of a hoax
By macleans.ca - Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 7:06 AM - 0 Comments
In an interview posted on ESPN late Friday night, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o…
In an interview posted on ESPN late Friday night, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o admitted that while he exaggerated in saying that he’d met his non-existent girlfriend, “Lennay Kekua,” he was not in on the hoax.
“Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing,” the Heisman finalist told ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap.
“I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, (I) met her before she passed away, so that people wouldn’t think that I was some crazy dude.”
Te’o denied creating the story to aid his campaign for a Heisman Trophy. ”When (people) hear the facts, they’ll know,” he said during the 2.5 hour interview. “They’ll know that there is no way that I could be part of this.”
Te’o says he was unaware Kekua did not exist until reached Wednesday by an acquaintance, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who confessed he was behind the hoax.
Lost in this story? Catch up here.
In the hours after Deadspin.com broke the news, college football fans tried to make sense of the bizarre tale. Notre Dame released a statement saying Te’o was a victim:
“Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators.”
In his own statement released Wednesday, Te’o said the discovery was painful and humiliating.
There is no video of the ESPN interview, but you’ll find all their coverage by following this link.
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Manti Te’o fake girlfriend story explodes
By Aaron Hutchins - Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 10:09 AM - 0 Comments
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The jaw-dropping investigation of Manti Te’o and the fake girlfriend
By Shanda Deziel - Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 6:13 PM - 0 Comments
The sad and inspirational story that turned out to be a hoax
Did Notre Dame college football star Manti Te’o make up a girlfriend, and kill her off—making his rise to stardom all the more inspirational? Or was it a hoax perpetrated upon him? That’s the question of the moment, thanks to a surprising investigation by Deadspin.
In what was described as a truly heartbreaking and incredible story, Te’o played two sensational games three days after the death of his grandmother, Annette Santiago, and girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. In the first, against Michigan State, he made 12 tackles and recovered a fumble in a 20-3 victory. And a week later, on the day of Kekua’s funeral, Te’o made two interceptions in a 13-6 victory over Michigan.
Both Te’o's relationship and mourning for the Kekua was well publicized and set Te’o out as a special candidate for the Heisman trophy.
