Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Fraud that is Manti Te'o?

Deadspin reported today that Manti Te'o's girlfriend who died of leukemia just hours after his grandmother, was actually not his girlfriend...In fact, she wasn't even real.  The shocking revelation that Deadspin, who seemingly thoroughly investigated this (article found here: http://tinyurl.com/b29k3pd), shows that it was either an elaborate hoax that Te'o was oblivious to or something he could have been a part of.  Notre Dame Athletic Director, Jack Swarbick, who just held a press conference moments ago, is totally behind Te'o in the sense that he was the victim.  He repeatedly called Te'o a victim of a hoax.  The univerisity did conduct their own investigation but never turned it over to law enforcement.  They were made aware of this, by Te'o, on December 26.  Swarbick talked to Te'o on the 27th where he laid out his relationship with the alleged woman posing as his "girlfriend".  Many inconsistencies in Te'o's story remain.  He said he had met her after a game at Stanford and even vacationed together.  He never said it was exclusively an on-line relationship.  He said they had talked on the phone almost everyday.  What is the truth? Swarbick said that Te'o received a phone call on the 26th, when he was at an ESPN awards show, from a number he recognized, and a voice he know.  It was supposedly from the woman who had "died" and said she was indeed alive.  While the university investigated, Te'o remained silent, and has remained silent since the National Championship game loss to Alabama.  Swarbick said that Te'o was going to address the media on this next week.  Now he says that Te'o will have a press conference tomorrow.  Will we ever get the truth from this? Was this an elaborate hoax by some sick people or was Te'o actually in on this? I doubt Te'o will admit he was in on this and will play a victim.  What do we believe?  The same day when we finally will allegedly hear that Lance Armstrong lied about PED use, will we get the whole truth from Te'o? I doubt the whole truth, but then again as sports fan, do we ever? One thing I know...I guess I have to watch the show "Catfish" to get any context of how something like this could even supposedly happen...
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5 comments:

  1. JackJanuary 16, 2013 at 6:16 PM

    Jason, I'm going to pose as a hot model and "catfish" you someday.

    Just thought I'd let you know in advance.

    But it'll be Gilly's picture I'll be sending.

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    1. Jason WirtzJanuary 16, 2013 at 8:02 PM

      haha, thanks Jack! Gilly's pic wouldn't be a good cover though! lol

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  2. mandimoJanuary 16, 2013 at 7:49 PM

    what did he have to gain from being "in" on it?

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    1. Jason WirtzJanuary 16, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      Hard to know his motivation at this point. He was up for the Heisman Trophy, which goes to the best college player in the country. He would have been the first pure defensive player to win it if he had won. I don't know if he though his story would give him more votes or what. Hard to tell at this point. The whole thing is puzzling and very surprising...

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  3. mandimoJanuary 17, 2013 at 8:59 AM

    so let me get this strait, he's having an online "relationship" with a girl who's fighting leukemia and was in a car accident... then he's told she dies... and he doesn't make any effort to contact her, or confirm her demise? He simply grieved? And through all the attention and support he received, she NOW contacts him to say she's not dead??? Convenient that she stopped contacting him as well once he was told she passed... its just too weird, but i also don't see the benefit of this "hoax" even regarding the trophy. Thanks for your take on this.

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