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| Manti Te'o girlfriend story a hoax, says Notre Dame | Manti Te'o girlfriend story a hoax, says Notre Dame |
| (25 days later) | |
| It was one of the most celebrated stories of heroism in US sport: the college football star who fought through the grief over the death of his girlfriend as he helped his team get to the championship game. | It was one of the most celebrated stories of heroism in US sport: the college football star who fought through the grief over the death of his girlfriend as he helped his team get to the championship game. |
| Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o had suffered an unthinkable double tragedy in his personal life – or so the story went. Just hours after finding out about the death of his beloved grandmother in Hawaii, Te'o learned that his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had died of leukemia, after a near-fatal carwreck months earlier. Three days later, Te'o played the game of his life, leading the Fighting Irish to a 20-3 victory over Michigan State. | Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o had suffered an unthinkable double tragedy in his personal life – or so the story went. Just hours after finding out about the death of his beloved grandmother in Hawaii, Te'o learned that his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had died of leukemia, after a near-fatal carwreck months earlier. Three days later, Te'o played the game of his life, leading the Fighting Irish to a 20-3 victory over Michigan State. |
| But in a dramatic and bewildering turn of events on Wednesday, it was claimed that the girlfriend and much of the tragic affair was a complete fiction, one that had taken in ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other major media outlets. | But in a dramatic and bewildering turn of events on Wednesday, it was claimed that the girlfriend and much of the tragic affair was a complete fiction, one that had taken in ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other major media outlets. |
| An investigation by the sports website Deadspin established that Lennay Kekua never existed, beyond a fake Twitter account that used a picture stolen from an unwitting woman's Facebook page. | An investigation by the sports website Deadspin established that Lennay Kekua never existed, beyond a fake Twitter account that used a picture stolen from an unwitting woman's Facebook page. |
| Te'o's sole interaction with a woman he described as his girlfriend, whom he loved and whose heartwrenching story he generously shared with a lot of reporters, appears to have been through Twitter. | Te'o's sole interaction with a woman he described as his girlfriend, whom he loved and whose heartwrenching story he generously shared with a lot of reporters, appears to have been through Twitter. |
| As the internet reacted with astonishment to that news, Notre Dame added another twist, claiming that their star linebacker was in fact the victim of the elaborate hoax and not its perpetrator. The story later took another mysterious turn, when an NFL player claimed he met the woman in question. | As the internet reacted with astonishment to that news, Notre Dame added another twist, claiming that their star linebacker was in fact the victim of the elaborate hoax and not its perpetrator. The story later took another mysterious turn, when an NFL player claimed he met the woman in question. |
| Before losing the BCS title game to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Notre Dame had enjoyed an undefeated season, thanks in large part to the gridiron heroics of Te'o. He was one of three finalists for this year's Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the best player in college football. He is expected to be a top pick in the NFL draft. He brought great accolades to Notre Dame athletics. | Before losing the BCS title game to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Notre Dame had enjoyed an undefeated season, thanks in large part to the gridiron heroics of Te'o. He was one of three finalists for this year's Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the best player in college football. He is expected to be a top pick in the NFL draft. He brought great accolades to Notre Dame athletics. |
| Notre Dame responded to Deadspin's story by releasing a statement which said that Te'o, a devout Mormon of Samoan descent, had informed the university weeks ago that he been taken in. | Notre Dame responded to Deadspin's story by releasing a statement which said that Te'o, a devout Mormon of Samoan descent, had informed the university weeks ago that he been taken in. |
| "On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te'o and his parents that 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." | "On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te'o and his parents that 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." |
| Certain details of the story Te'o told are difficult to square with the notion that he was the victim of a hoax. Sports Illustrated reported that Te'o slept with a phone, listening to his girlfriend breathe as she was convalescing on a cancer ward. Those and other excruciating details of his fictional girlfriend's painful illness and death, details Deadspin rounds up from the numerous media outlets where they were published, appear to have come from the football star and his family. | Certain details of the story Te'o told are difficult to square with the notion that he was the victim of a hoax. Sports Illustrated reported that Te'o slept with a phone, listening to his girlfriend breathe as she was convalescing on a cancer ward. Those and other excruciating details of his fictional girlfriend's painful illness and death, details Deadspin rounds up from the numerous media outlets where they were published, appear to have come from the football star and his family. |
| "This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online," Te'o said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. | "This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online," Te'o said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. |
| "To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. …Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft." | "To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. …Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft." |
| Deadspin identified a suspect behind the fake identity and fake account as a man, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a classmate of the woman whose Facebook photo was apparently stolen. Tuiasosopo also was an acquaintance of Te'o's before the linebacker's rise to stardom. | Deadspin identified a suspect behind the fake identity and fake account as a man, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a classmate of the woman whose Facebook photo was apparently stolen. Tuiasosopo also was an acquaintance of Te'o's before the linebacker's rise to stardom. |
| The nature of the relationship between Tuaisosopo and Te'o, however, is unclear, leaving the question of the football prospect's complicity in the hoax, if any, an open one. | The nature of the relationship between Tuaisosopo and Te'o, however, is unclear, leaving the question of the football prospect's complicity in the hoax, if any, an open one. |
| For now, Notre Dame is standing by its star. | For now, Notre Dame is standing by its star. |
| "The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax," the Notre Dame statement said. "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." | "The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax," the Notre Dame statement said. "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 a press conference on Wednesday evening, Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's athletic director, expanded on the story. "I would refer all of you, if you're not already familiar with it, with both the documentary called Catfish, the MTV show which is a derivative of that documentary and the sort of associated things you'll find online and otherwise about Catfish or 'catfishing", said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's athletic director, referring to the 2010 documentary – the authenticity of which has been called into question – about a young man who is tricked on Facebook into falling for a fictitious woman. | In a press conference on Wednesday evening, Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's athletic director, expanded on the story. "I would refer all of you, if you're not already familiar with it, with both the documentary called Catfish, the MTV show which is a derivative of that documentary and the sort of associated things you'll find online and otherwise about Catfish or 'catfishing", said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's athletic director, referring to the 2010 documentary – the authenticity of which has been called into question – about a young man who is tricked on Facebook into falling for a fictitious woman. |
| After explaining that the university had hired private investigators, Swarbrick added: "Through their work [they] were able to discover online chatter among the perpetrators that is sort of the ultimate proof of this, the joy they were taking, the sort of casualness with which among themselves they were referring to what they had accomplished and what they had done." | After explaining that the university had hired private investigators, Swarbrick added: "Through their work [they] were able to discover online chatter among the perpetrators that is sort of the ultimate proof of this, the joy they were taking, the sort of casualness with which among themselves they were referring to what they had accomplished and what they had done." |
| However, Reagan Maui'a, a fullback with the Arizona Cardinals, now claims to have met Kekua in person while doing charity work in American Samoa with other team-mates in June 2011. | However, Reagan Maui'a, a fullback with the Arizona Cardinals, now claims to have met Kekua in person while doing charity work in American Samoa with other team-mates in June 2011. |
| "This was before her and Manti," ESPN reported Maui'a as saying. "I don't think Manti was even in the picture, but she and I became good friends. We would talk off and on, just checking up on each other kind of thing. I am close to her family. When she was going through the loss of her father, I was – I offered a comforting shoulder and just someone to bounce her emotions off. That was just from meeting her in Samoa." | "This was before her and Manti," ESPN reported Maui'a as saying. "I don't think Manti was even in the picture, but she and I became good friends. We would talk off and on, just checking up on each other kind of thing. I am close to her family. When she was going through the loss of her father, I was – I offered a comforting shoulder and just someone to bounce her emotions off. That was just from meeting her in Samoa." |
| "She was tall," he added. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model." | "She was tall," he added. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model." |
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