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

And OKC at Dallas goes to OT, delaying SportsCenter.

 

Still think the 8-hour phone calls are BS.

 

Why didn't they play any of the audio from the interview?

 

That report by Schaap was a joke. He sounded like a PR flak for Te'o.

 

Jeremy Schaap is about as dangerous as Roy Firestone.

 

Now Manti claims he wasn't fully convinced the girl did not exist until two days ago?

Otherwise known as the "Too Stupid To Live" defense.

 

So whoever was behind this had a girl pretend to be Lennay to meet the Arizona FB and had a kid pose as Lennay's niece?

 

The kid posing as a niece has come up in a couple of other stories (one from a girl who set out Lennay's sister and the radio interview with the uncle from yesterday). The more different people corroborate it, the more I'm buying into the fact that the guy behind this bit was almost pathologically committed to it.

 

Which is perhaps the most accurate and truthful defense here.

From the evidence/details that've emerged today, I actually think the story's pieces are starting to come together. Although admittedly, it does require an assumption that this guy was hopelessly naive and gullible. But such people do exist, otherwise we wouldn't have a thriving Nigerian Prince email industry.

Dec. 6 is the day when he received the phone call giving him obvious doubts, but I don't believe either Teo or Swarbruck claimed he definitively "knew" that day (even if the less gullible obviously would've). Dec. 26 is the day he informed ND, prompting them to commission an independent investigation, the final findings of which I'm guessing they didn't get until quite recently. Then a couple days ago the Deadspin piece is published leaving no remaining doubt. So, on that basis, I can see how he can state that he wasn't "fully convinced" until recent days--at least in terms of when he saw something resembling definitive proof.

I no longer believe for a second that he was in on it. That just makes no sense, he has no motive whatsoever to do that, the beard/gay theory was the only basis upon which I could possibly see that making sense, and that apparently ain't the case. And other evidence coming out today reveals that Tuiasasopo is a legit scamster who's duped others besides Te'o with essentially this exact same hoax.

And to the extent that Te'o did go along with it after Dec. 6, or told some little white lies/embellishments along the way, I suspect it was more about avoiding monumental embarrassment than anything else. You can call him a rube, an idiot, "too stupid to live" etc., but I don't believe he's a hoaxster.

 

I understand, Stoney.

I, too, believe in dragons and unicorns.

 

I'm seriously stunned that people still think that Te'o is some conniving mastermind. Not a shred of evidence supports his involvement. Tons of it points the other way.

 

Cui bono?