I want you to consider the possibility that he was duped and then perpetuated the lie for any number of reasons, some of which we've discussed, and some we may not know. I suspect we're going to find out more about this over the coming days and weeks. People want to pile on him and assume the worst for some reason, but I think it's a little early for that. I've seen stories like this happen before, and so I hesitate to pass judgment. It's probably not quite that black and white.
The first time the "girlfriend" even got public attention was when she "died". If he was duped, he could have just let it go. At the latest when she "died", he must have known that she never existed. Since that was the first time she even came into the public eye, he was in on it when it started.
That's specious reasoning. Yes, he could have "let it go". But that would mean admitting to friends, family, peers, whomever else he was duped. Pretty embarassing, especially for someone that high of profile. He's a young kid and he's capable of making bad decisions (i.e. creating a lie for convenience/self-preservation that spirals WAY the hell out of control), I don't think this automatically means he did it for all the wrong reasons, if he in fact did it.
So you are saying that rather than just saying to friends, family and peers that he and someone they had never met (assuming she was ever even mentioned before he went public with the story) simply ended their relationship, he would go on national TV with the story? Doesn't make any sense whatsoever. 1) He is gay. 2) The whole story was made up, and he was in on it, at the very least when he went on national TV with it. It doesn't matter whether he was initially duped - when he told the story on national TV about his brother having called him that she died, he knew she never existed - that is indisputable. The reasons? Other than the gay cover-up and getting a huge amount of attention from national media, I don't see any.
Te'o has too many inconsistencies in his story. He lied the entire time. Either he lied to coverup his embarrassment of having an online relationship, gay relationship, or for national media exposure - he still lied throughout.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/17/cardinals-mauia-says-he-met-manti-teos-girlfriend-she-is-real/ Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hAAlDoAtV7Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Like I said, he's a young kid (allegedly) put in a difficult and embarassing situation, as such, he's capabale of making poor decisions. Maybe he thought saying she died would cover-up/throw people off the fact that she wasn't real/he was duped. Not saying it was a good idea, remember, we're not dealing with a nobel prize winner here. I'm just saying there's a lot we don't know about the decisions that were made, when they were made, and why they were made.
Yeah, JR I think was the one that posted that from ESPN yesterday. ESPN also had: http://espn.go.com/college-football...ry-manti-teo-girlfriend-death-apparently-hoax
It's the most logical explanation as to why he would go to such lengths to make something like this up. Again, there is nothing wrong with him being gay per se. Plus, my gaydar is almost non-existent (I am usually one of the last people to realize that someone is), but he seems like it to me from the videos.
What we do know is that his story does not add up - it is full of inconsistencies, and the press release he/ND came out with now is most definitely untrue.
The problem with your theory is if the Te'o version is true, he had no idea she wasn't real when it was reported she died. In fact, if he was doing this to cover up his homosexuality, an easier lie would be that they broke up. He doesn't have to make up a dead girlfriend to prove he doesn't like pole. If there was a hoax that Te'o was involved in, I think it would be for publicity/Heisman reasons.
I'm almost hoping this kid is gay. It would be a shinning beacon of how football, machismo and religious pressure can make a young made alter his entire identity to fit in. espn ran a story about gay athletes in sports and talked to one of It's openly gay sports writers, LZ Granderson about it. He said there just needs to be one brave enough to step up. Will Te'o step up?
That's a good point, which is why I think it is a combination of 1) and 2) (gay and publicity stunt). Might have started out as a gay cover-up, then he realized that it could be useful for other purposes as well?
The fact that she went to Hawaii to spend time with his family needs to be addressed. There is no way you have this long of an "online" relationship and not at least facetime.
You have that one slightly off. Te'o's father, Brian, told the Tribune in October 2012. "Every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, and that happened to be the time Manti was home, so he would meet with her there." But yes, it absolutely needs to be addressed.
Didn't the parents say they never actually met her? So the father could just be repeating a story his son told him. If this is due to his homosexuality, it will come out at some point. Because I don't see why he would engage in an elaborate cover-up IF he hadn't already done something that could be exposed. You just shut up about it if you don't want people to know. People ask, say you're focusing on football. How hard is that?
