Deadspin: Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend story was a hoax

I'm not. I haven't been. But the most plausible explanation for every detail of the story, based on what's been reported to this point, supports the theory that this was a hoax perpetrated ob him, not by him.

 

Shocked at the amount of people who believe Teo's story here, but I guess this thread has become an interesting case study into how all of the journos who covered this story got so easily fooled. Sometimes we just really, really want to believe that our favorite athletes can do no wrong.

Teo has lied every step of the way. He "tailored" his story to the press. This has been admitted. He lied to his parents. This has been admitted. He has lied to every reporter, coach and teammate who he spoke with about this story (whether he lied about having a fake GF, or lied/embellished details of a 'real' online relationship.. it's a lie either way).

It's amazing to me that even in a staged, off-camera ESPN PR piece he can still come off completely phony. My favorite part of the Schapp piece is when Teo is asked why he never visited this woman, who was the love of his life, when she was in the hospital. His response? "It never really crossed my mind.. I was in school."

Reaaaaaally?

And another twist, via Deadspin:

 

Couple of thoughts. Yes, a Friday night, off camera interview is designed to end/slow down the news cycle. Clips of an on camera interview would have been shown everywhere and just extended it.

He's down in Bradenton, at IMG, trying to prepare for the combines/draft. He wants this behind him as soon as possible. With this interview, he can now say he's said all he's going to say about it.

I don't think it indicates any guilt on his part.

As to the mentions of the girlfriend after December 6th, people are putting way to much weight on those. Just because he didn't "come clean" to the national media as soon as he realized he had been duped doesn't mean he was "in on it". It may only mean he wasn't ready for the embarrassment, or the distraction. Or that he was still trying to process what had happened. (Plus, they were still trying to lead him on, saying that she had faked her own death to avoid drug dealers.)

Lastly, I still think it's funny that people are "demanding answers" from some college kid, in a situation where he was a victim.

He doesn't owe anybody anything. Go demand answers of the South Bend Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, SI, and others.

These are the professionals (in your industry) who failed to do their jobs.

It also makes me wonder, is this a "toy department" problem? If the local candidate for mayor had a girlfriend die, and she was a big part of the narrative of his campaign, would the press track her down, speak to her family, and/or discover she never existed?

Do sports writers love a good story too much to determine if the story is true?

 

Totally believable, skipping the funeral. He'd never met her. This relationship was a fantasy. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/teo-among-many-victims-online-wishful-thinking

 

What was Paul Ryan's marathon time again?

 

How long did that story stand national scrutiny?

 

Up until the toy department investigated it.

When did Marco Rubio's family flee Cuba?

Who was Barack Obama's college girlfriend?

 

OK. Well defended.

Still, people can't believe T'eo was duped, yet they all believed the same story. And, the media bought it, even though it was "unbelievable", instead of trying to independently confirm it.

 

Maybe. Sports fans sure do.

 

What on fake planet Earth does this mean?

 

Travis was the first "journalist" (putting that word in quotes is important here) who openly pushed the gay theory, and also said that he would have posted the Kekua picture and probably looked into it further had she "been hotter."

No, I'm not exaggerating any of that.

 

100%. And, the media wants to spoon feed us the stories.

NBC has made an art of it with their Olympics coverage.

The Lance Armstrong story isn't much different. Who didn't want to believe in the cancer survivor, winning 7 Tours without cheating -- and beating folks who were cheating?