| FTBL Deadspin: Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend, the most heartbreaking and inspirational story of the colle

[0LDSCH00L]

And all the time I thought that funny look on his face during the BCSCG was because the Irish were getting their ass kicked?

He may have known the cat was already out of the bag?

 

[Irish#1]

Thanks for the share. I find it fascinating that his own teammates were suspicious/weird about it so early on .. I didn't hear that side of the story. And the whole lei thing .. Wow.

You know, one weird theory that has been floating around is that Te'o was actually gay and that he DID have a relationship; just with a man. This relationship was real but the woman he met in person and talked about was a fabrication/someone paid off to pose as her. When the pressure began to mount (from himself, his parents, his faith, etc), he ended the secret relationship and either pretended he/she died to end it and go off with a big publicity stunt bang, or that the person actually did perish and Te'o was mourning someone .. just not the woman we were led to believe.

VERY strange and dark stuff floating around. There's even a rumor that he KILLED his girlfriend and tried to cover it up :chat_headscratch:

I think those rumors have started because there is some thought that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo may be gay. I've also read that this isn't the first time Ronaiah Tuiasosopo has done this. Haven't heard the murder rumor yet, but I can't see that at all.

As far as Wojo and the media, I'm sure he wanted this story to be true, but reporters are taught to check facts and get multiple sources or confirmation before publishing. He bailed on his responsibilities as did the rest of the media. I would have thought at least one reporter would have tried to attend her funeral.

 

[Irish#1]

And all the time I thought that funny look on his face during the BCSCG was because the Irish were getting their ass kicked?

He may have known the cat was already out of the bag?[/QUOTE]

He brought this to the attention of the school in December. That's when they started their investigation.

 

[Irish#1]

Here's an excert from Pat Forde's column on Yahoo Sports that helps clear up some of this.

The hoax started coming to light in early December, according to sources. While attending the ESPN college football awards show in Orlando, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Te'o got a call from the phone number he had associated with Kekua. Te'o was deeply disturbed by the call and suspected it was Kekua's purported sister. Although Te'o's parents were with him in Orlando, he did not inform them of the call, a source said.
The person kept calling and saying it was Lennay herself, and over the course of 10 days Te'o engaged the woman in several conversations.
"He was asking questions only Lennay would know," said the source, adding that phone records show multiple calls between Te'o and that number.

 

[PhillyGirl]

The question still remains: why did Te'o and ND continue the charade for weeks in light of that information?

 

[PhillyGirl]

Here's an excert from Pat Forde's column on Yahoo Sports that helps clear up some of this.

The hoax started coming to light in early December, according to sources. While attending the ESPN college football awards show in Orlando, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Te'o got a call from the phone number he had associated with Kekua. Te'o was deeply disturbed by the call and suspected it was Kekua's purported sister. Although Te'o's parents were with him in Orlando, he did not inform them of the call, a source said.
The person kept calling and saying it was Lennay herself, and over the course of 10 days Te'o engaged the woman in several conversations.
"He was asking questions only Lennay would know," said the source, adding that phone records show multiple calls between Te'o and that number.

Who is the source? And how do we know what conversations actually happened? IF Te'o is lying about the whole thing, it's just as possible that he is lying about what transpired with the phone number. It could've been his accomplice calling to threaten him or something. Who knows. Nothing is ever gonna be clear ..

But I am confused re: a specific quote here. It says 'HE' was asking questions only Lennay would know, yet earlier it says Te'o engaged a woman in conversations. So was the caller a woman or a man? Or is this just a typo? Haha sorry but since the whole situation is confusing (Lennay, the gay rumors, etc) I feel like they need to be quite clear on the gender pronouns!

 

[Irish#1]

Who is the source? And how do we know what conversations actually happened? IF Te'o is lying about the whole thing, it's just as possible that he is lying about what transpired with the phone number. It could've been his accomplice calling to threaten him or something. Who knows. Nothing is ever gonna be clear ..

But I am confused re: a specific quote here. It says 'HE' was asking questions only Lennay would know, yet earlier it says Te'o engaged a woman in conversations. So was the caller a woman or a man? Or is this just a typo? Haha sorry but since the whole situation is confusing (Lennay, the gay rumors, etc) I feel like they need to be quite clear on the gender pronouns!

I've read nothing from the media concerning the "Gay" aspect. It was Manti who was asking the questions. Only Lennay would know the answers. He asked those questions when he got the call during the awards ceremony. Maybe Ronaiah Tuiasosopo sounds like a girl or he had a girl involved? The conversations were verified by call records.

 

[TerryP]

I've read nothing from the media concerning the "Gay" aspect. It was Manti who was asking the questions. Only Lennay would know the answers. He asked those questions when he got the call during the awards ceremony. Maybe Ronaiah Tuiasosopo sounds like a girl or he had a girl involved? The conversations were verified by call records.

I've seen nothing about phone records being reviewed. Where is that coming from?

 

['65 Cobra]

Who is the source? And how do we know what conversations actually happened? IF Te'o is lying about the whole thing, it's just as possible that he is lying about what transpired with the phone number. It could've been his accomplice calling to threaten him or something. Who knows. Nothing is ever gonna be clear ..

But I am confused re: a specific quote here. It says 'HE' was asking questions only Lennay would know, yet earlier it says Te'o engaged a woman in conversations. So was the caller a woman or a man? Or is this just a typo? Haha sorry but since the whole situation is confusing (Lennay, the gay rumors, etc) I feel like they need to be quite clear on the gender pronouns!

In that context, I believe the "he" the story references is Te'o himself. He, Te'o, was asking questions of the woman that only Lennay would know.

This whole thing, to me, still smacks of a much larger story and cover up than just that Te'o was duped by an internet girlfriend. That Jack Swarbrick (sp?) weepy press conference was absolutely insane. What AD does that? The quotes about meeting the girl in Hawaii. The ESPN interview. And the vague and deflecting info trickling out now.

It's one of two things; either Te'o was in on it from the get go, or he was super-naive and was duped by some chick playing "Catfish" games. If we assume the latter is the lesser of two evils, then why did Te'o and ND sit on this information for over a month and a half all the while promoting the story, the Heisman, and the "front 7" etc., etc.? If he was in on it to begin with, the boy's got some serious issues.

 

[Irish#1]

The question still remains: why did Te'o and ND continue the charade for weeks in light of that information?

ND didn't. Once Manti came to them, Swarbrick started the investigation. Manti had already graduated and was no longer a student, so the decsion was to let Manti and his agent handle it since it wasn't a school matter in the first place.

 

[JoshB]

Here's an excert from Pat Forde's column on Yahoo Sports that helps clear up some of this.

The hoax started coming to light in early December, according to sources. While attending the ESPN college football awards show in Orlando, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Te'o got a call from the phone number he had associated with Kekua. Te'o was deeply disturbed by the call and suspected it was Kekua's purported sister. Although Te'o's parents were with him in Orlando, he did not inform them of the call, a source said.
The person kept calling and saying it was Lennay herself, and over the course of 10 days Te'o engaged the woman in several conversations.
"He was asking questions only Lennay would know," said the source, adding that phone records show multiple calls between Te'o and that number.

Sorry bro that doesn't answer anything, you cant now claim "oh it was just an online relationship, we never actually met" after months and months of this stuff even describing they way their "eyes locked" at a Stanford-Notre Dame game. How bout the fact that supposedly the fell asleep on the phone together, noone notices the difference in time between California & Indiana? Not only this but the dude supposedly finds out in early December that it was a hoax yet doesn't tell the coaches until the 26th and continues to talk about his "dead" girlfriend in the week leading up to the game. Not buying it man.

Even his own teammates have said they knew for awhile that it wasn't actually his "girlfriend" and that Mentai liked the publicity and that was the reason he was letting it continue.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

ND didn't. Once Manti came to them, Swarbrick started the investigation. Manti had already graduated and was no longer a student, so the decsion was to let Manti and his agent handle it since it wasn't a school matter in the first place.

His agent? :chat_headscratch: Let me get this straight, all this happened before the Heisman, and he had a agent? To confused to care anymore. This is the very stuff I just step back from. Too much crap going on if it was this simple. JMHO

 

[Irish#1]

I've seen nothing about phone records being reviewed. Where is that coming from?

Sorry, I don't remember, but it was in one of the countless articles I read today. To paraphrase, it said call records showed there were numerous calls between Manti and Lennay's number after she called to say she was still alive.

 

[steelmagnolia]

that gal was as real as notre dame's #1 ranking.

 

[Irish#1]

His agent? :chat_headscratch: Let me get this straight, all this happened before the Heisman, and he had a agent? To confused to care anymore. This is the very stuff I just step back from. Too much crap going on if it was this simple. JMHO

So true.

I don't think he signed with his agent until after the game.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

So true.

I don't think he signed with his agent until after the game.

Your a good sport bro, I will say congrats to you all this year. Hope all this turns out better for your fanbase, team and school.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Does anyone else find it disturbing how the administration/AD reacted to this in comparison to the suicide???

 

[Irish#1]

Your a good sport bro, I will say congrats to you all this year. Hope all this turns out better for your fanbase, team and school.

Thanks, I try to be as objective as possible, but every once in a while my bias shows through. :lol:

 

[It Takes Eleven]

So true.

I don't think he signed with his agent until after the game.

I don't want to argue with myself, but although signing is important, if he has someone acting as his agent during the season, signing is not necessary. This could lead to NCAA complications.

RTR,

Tim

 

[mrchase]