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

I fail to see how Occam's Razor would lead to this conclusion. The man went on the biggest sports channel in the known universe and declared this girl the love of this life. If the simplest explanation was in play, you wouldn't have a young man spinning long poetic yarns about this girl he'd never seen in person. I accept the idea that a small lie can take on a larger life of it's own, but usually people in that spot don't fan the flames by talking it up on national TV. If he were duped and we were going simple, he could no comment that stuff, and guess what, the little lie stays in the family.

Going back to Occam's Razor, wouldn't the simplest explanation be the person closest to this (who happened to know the person behind the fake girl), was even slightly aware, and his lie came not out of an embarrassment because of cyber dating, but because he in fact had some awareness and hand in it? The man lied all over the place and we're expected to believe the lie was limited in scope?

 

I really do not know where I stand on this.

I'm someone who wants to believe the best in people, even if that means they are incredibly naive and got duped and now look like idiots. People are duped every day in the online dating world, some for tens of thousands of dollars, and often these people are very successful people, very intelligent people. It's easy to do and there are people who make a living off of this. I've been doing the Internet dating thing -- not the scamming but honestly looking -- off an on for a while now, there are a ton of land mines.

Even if he got duped there are certainly, at the very least, some white lies out there, like see her first at a Stanford game. It sounds so much better if you're the captain of the Notre Dame football team that you don't actually have to resort to internet dating to meet women. There is still some stigma attached to it, regardless of how common it is becoming, especially in the macho, jock world of college football, where I'm sure if he wanted to hook up with some chick, all he'd have to do is go to any party or bar in South Bend and say "I'm Manti Te'o".

I agree with this line of thinking as well:

However, there's a lot that bothers me about this, outside the lazy journalism. I don't buy it as a cover for Te'o being gay, it just makes no sense to kill her off at the same time his grandma dies.

Follow the money, who benefits the most from the lie? Did the girlfriend's death result in donations to any fake charities, look into those. But it creates a mythical back story that really vaulted him to the top of everyone's Heisman list as a legitimate contender. This creates that incredible base to build off of, not just for the Heisman push but for when he turns pro. An athlete's image is built off of their back story. Tebow still benefits from his. Much of Warner's cache is that he stocked shelves at a grocery store before his big break. It becomes lore, and that's bankable. It's the Chicken Soup Game times 1,000. Someone who isn't necessarily familiar with the inner workings of journalism, especially if he has been pandered to his entire football life, may not be thinking fact checkers, they'll just believe me because I said so, they'll never think someone made up a story like this. And it nearly worked.

Te'o Sr.'s involvement can be chalked up as protecting his son, but it just seems over the top. I think Tuiasosopo and definitely knew Manti somehow, and maybe he even broached the idea, or maybe he just saw a mark. Maybe as someone else suggested, Tuiasosopo is gay and this was his way to get close. IDK.

If Manti was duped, I feel sorry for him. It sucks. And I think there is a good chance he ends up broke shortly after his playing career is done because he will have been duped out of career earnings. Do I think it will effect his draft stock? Possibly, but he is still the most talented middle linebacker in the draft, and teams will look past this. As far as character issues go, he didn't kill anyone, he didn't wind up in jail, he isn't out there making it rain in strip clubs or rolling around campus in a tricked out Benz and as far as I've heard, this is the first major blip on his radar.

 

But it happens ... how many people get suckered by variations of the Nigerian scam each year? Or think they're getting real Viagra cheaper from an offshore pharmacy? Factor in the heart, and we've got what we've got today.

 

I saw tweets from Te'o account to the fake girlfriend's account AFTER she "died." One said "I miss you" and the other said something along the lines of "I know you and [insert name of other relatives/friends who have died] are watching over me, blah, blah."

And they were retweeted by the fake girlfriend's account!! Did Te'o not see that? Was this before or after he received the phone call in Orlando?

I mean.....this is insane.

 

Forde is a bit out of his depth discussing LDS courting rituals.

 

Always something going on in this world.

Anyway, what gets me is that at some point during the last 3 years (not sure if someone floated it here) don't you take a roadie to meet the girl? During the off-season? Spring break? Summer?

And if he did and Tuiosisopo found a female to play the part, who is that female? And if they did meet, no photos of Manti and the real girl playing the fake girlfriend?

 

Clearly she had the bad leukemia

 

That's pretty good.

 

What if he had a long career? Wouldn't eventually, someone ask him why he wasn't dating? Or why his GF/wife wasn't attending any team charity events?

 

He would not be the only gay athlete in the world.

 

BREAKING NEWS ...
A Hollywood star has spoken out in defense of Te'o. Clint Eastwood claims to have met Te'o's girlfriend and has submitted photographic evidence to back up his claim.

 

Gold.