Te'o Opens Up to ESPN, Denies Involvement
Manti Te'o, the man in the center of the greatest lie in the history of Notre Dame football denies having any involvement in girlfriend-gate, and that he was indeed duped by his friend (excuse me) non-friend, Ronaiah Tuiososopo, as part of an online prank on the linebacker according to an exclusive interview on ESPN.
Te'o denied that he ever met Kekua, and said he tried to meet with her via Skype, even though it was reported that Te'o had met her in 2009, and was seen with her over the course of the last three years.
Te'o even decried reports that he knew of Tuiososopo, showing Jeremy Schapp a text message from Tuiososopo admitting to him he started the prank and that he was sorry. Te'o said he never met Tuiososopo until that November 24 game in LA. However it doesn't answer the question as to why the two were friends on Twitter long before that game. It also doesn't answer why friends of the family were saying that Tuiososopo and Te'o were buddies.
However, the linebacker admitted that he did "alter" his stories so his family would think he met her. He even admitted that he lied to his father about Kekua.
""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"(ESPN).
Well you could have fooled us Te'o. All you did was tell every single major media outlet that Kekua was the love of your life, and that it was a struggle to live without her. Te'o was even videotaped in the Notre Dame locker room thanking his teammates for their support during a trying time. Te'o not only helped make up the stories that he knew were false, he ran with it to gain publicity even though he won't admit to that claim.
When pressed about visiting Kekua in the hospital before she "died." Te'o offered this curious response: "It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he said.
Furthermore, Te'o claimed that he was told by the Kekua family not to attend the funeral.
"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.
Te'o then revealed that he found out that Kekua was a "hoax" on December 6 when he received a phone call from a woman claiming to be her. Yet, Te'o kept the lie going right through Notre Dame's embarrassing 42-14 drubbing at the hands of Alabama. The reasoning? He was "confused" about the situation.
"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."
It is getting harder and harder to believe anything that Te'o says. He claims that he was confused and duped by sophisticated jokers, but his reasoning for every question is ridiculous. Anyone who knows a friend who is dying of cancer would go visit them in the the hospital. Te'o excuse that he was busy with school is a poor answer.
The fact that Te'o was cunning enough to not even fess up to the lies during the month of December and earlier is also a lingering question. "Confused" is not an answer; this is a guy who stuck his own foot in his mouth and is doing everything he can to make himself look good. He even had his uncle go out of the way to rip Tuiososopo during a phone interview with ESPN in order to save face.
Te'o still has a lot stacked up against him. His confessional to ESPN didn't answer any questions, in fact it cemented the fact that he may be a pathological liar. It seems that the lies just get bigger and bigger the longer this story drags out. Furthermore, teammates have come out and stated that Te'o is a guy who adores attention.
"Multiple media reports have said players thought that Te'o had only met Lennay Kekua once and that it wasn't really accurate to call her his girlfriend. But as condolences poured in, Te'o "played along," according to the teammate, who wished to remain anonymous.
The teammate portrayed the move as part of the All-American's personality, telling ESPN that Te'o liked attention so much that he would sometimes point himself out to friends when he was on television," ESPN
Te'o and his family may think that this story is now dead, because he came out and said he was duped, but in truth, it is not. There is sure to be further investigations into this story. Nobody had heard from Tuiososopo yet, and the woman who said that Te'o was "in on it" has not be interviewed extensively yet either. The story will not go away. Also, Te'o can forget about saving his reputation; the damage has been done. He may still get drafted in the NFL draft, but is certainly won't be as a first round pick. How could any team trust anything this guy says now?
Te'o even decried reports that he knew of Tuiososopo, showing Jeremy Schapp a text message from Tuiososopo admitting to him he started the prank and that he was sorry. Te'o said he never met Tuiososopo until that November 24 game in LA. However it doesn't answer the question as to why the two were friends on Twitter long before that game. It also doesn't answer why friends of the family were saying that Tuiososopo and Te'o were buddies.
However, the linebacker admitted that he did "alter" his stories so his family would think he met her. He even admitted that he lied to his father about Kekua.
""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"(ESPN).
Well you could have fooled us Te'o. All you did was tell every single major media outlet that Kekua was the love of your life, and that it was a struggle to live without her. Te'o was even videotaped in the Notre Dame locker room thanking his teammates for their support during a trying time. Te'o not only helped make up the stories that he knew were false, he ran with it to gain publicity even though he won't admit to that claim.
When pressed about visiting Kekua in the hospital before she "died." Te'o offered this curious response: "It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he said.
Furthermore, Te'o claimed that he was told by the Kekua family not to attend the funeral.
"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.
Te'o then revealed that he found out that Kekua was a "hoax" on December 6 when he received a phone call from a woman claiming to be her. Yet, Te'o kept the lie going right through Notre Dame's embarrassing 42-14 drubbing at the hands of Alabama. The reasoning? He was "confused" about the situation.
"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."
It is getting harder and harder to believe anything that Te'o says. He claims that he was confused and duped by sophisticated jokers, but his reasoning for every question is ridiculous. Anyone who knows a friend who is dying of cancer would go visit them in the the hospital. Te'o excuse that he was busy with school is a poor answer.
The fact that Te'o was cunning enough to not even fess up to the lies during the month of December and earlier is also a lingering question. "Confused" is not an answer; this is a guy who stuck his own foot in his mouth and is doing everything he can to make himself look good. He even had his uncle go out of the way to rip Tuiososopo during a phone interview with ESPN in order to save face.
Te'o still has a lot stacked up against him. His confessional to ESPN didn't answer any questions, in fact it cemented the fact that he may be a pathological liar. It seems that the lies just get bigger and bigger the longer this story drags out. Furthermore, teammates have come out and stated that Te'o is a guy who adores attention.
"Multiple media reports have said players thought that Te'o had only met Lennay Kekua once and that it wasn't really accurate to call her his girlfriend. But as condolences poured in, Te'o "played along," according to the teammate, who wished to remain anonymous.
The teammate portrayed the move as part of the All-American's personality, telling ESPN that Te'o liked attention so much that he would sometimes point himself out to friends when he was on television," ESPN
Te'o and his family may think that this story is now dead, because he came out and said he was duped, but in truth, it is not. There is sure to be further investigations into this story. Nobody had heard from Tuiososopo yet, and the woman who said that Te'o was "in on it" has not be interviewed extensively yet either. The story will not go away. Also, Te'o can forget about saving his reputation; the damage has been done. He may still get drafted in the NFL draft, but is certainly won't be as a first round pick. How could any team trust anything this guy says now?
Comments