Barstool Sports

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. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. 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.

Dennis Brown
University Spokesman | Assistant Vice President

ESPN - Te’o issued a statement Tuesday afternoon:

“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. 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.

“It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother’s death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life.

“I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been.

“In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was.

“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.”

Well I think it’s safe to say pretty much everyone saw this coming.  That the story of Manti Te’o and his fake dead girlfriend would just get weirder and weirder and weirder.  And here is the official first step.  Notre Dame releasing a statement saying Manti was the victim of a hoax and had no idea that his girlfriend was fake.  Yes the same girlfriend that he claimed to talk to for hours and hours on the phone every night and fall asleep listening to each other breathing.  That was all a trick.  That he didn’t go to her funeral because she insisted he not miss a game, not because, oh you know, she was never a real person in the first place.  Seriously just re read the timeline in the Deadspin article and decide for yourself.  Call me a cynic but it all just seems a little hard to believe…