I don’t buy the argument that Te’o and/or Notre Dame “needed” to do anything.
The whole debacle is embarrassing for him personally, but it doesn’t really reflect on the University one way or the other, and I don’t see where his fake girlfriend is even their concern at all. After all, who’s been hurt?
People had their emotions manipulated, and fans organized support campaigns and donated money to charity in the fake dead girl’s name. Yeah, giving to charity is good anyway, but they did have some obligation to tell the truth about a story they had brought to the country’s attention.
Manti’s rebound was apretty attractive woman, which should put to rest the “beard” theory.
I meant to bow out, but this is just too much. Explanation as to why fake girlfriend came back to life to in real life tell Te’o why she had to fake her (fake) death to avoid fake drug dealers…Got it?
I really don’t understand what happened with the December 6 phone call. What did the caller say on the call? “Surprise! I’m not dead! Got ya! I have a totally reasonable explanation for letting you think I was dead for the past three months.” It seems like that no matter what was said on the phone call, that it shouldn’t take 10 days to figure out that he had been played.
It’s true, they don’t really need to say anything, other than to get people to stop asking questions and bothering them about it. It’s a big story with a lot of questions, so it’s not going to be left alone until they explain what happened.
But I do keep imagining what it would be like if Te’o had won the Heisman. People would think that the tragic story had played a part, and there would be Aggies going crazy about how Johnny Football had been cheated out of it.
I guess that was a test to see if he was the stupidest man on Earth. At least this time he picked the correct answer.
If true…huge if, then yea, I’m extremely careful who I’m leaking/telling these facts, too. He’s circling the wagons back in Hawai’i it appears. Even on their face, and even if you’re completely innocent, the honest truth could screw you by telling the wrong journalist.
I imagine much negotiation as to how his version of the story gets released. Also, you want to hurry and quell the madness, but you also don’t want the perp to have the last word.
You got this in while I was writing my last post, and all I can say is wow, that is crazy. And I can’t wait for the movie version of this story.
“When your girlfriend refuses to meet with you face-to-face, spends months faking her own death by cancer she got from a car crash to avoid drug dealers, doesn’t tell you she’s faking her own death until after the fact and she may not exist at all but actually be your friend pulling an extremely elaborate prank on you…gentlemen, that’s a deal breaker”
Seriously. I would come completely clean and then make some jokes about how preposterous it is and I actually fell for it! That’s what I’d do if I was him. Turn it into a black comedy (or accept that it is).
Nice 30 Rock reference.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the press. I am such a moron. There I said it. I was duped, I played along because you know…anyway, nobody got hurt. I am now very happy with my current girlfriend Sue Storm.”
He really needs to release a sex tape with his new girlfriend. That should make everyone happy 
yea. Open by walking up to the podium with new girlfriend, glance slightly below eye level at her, turn to podium, “they’re real, and they’re spectacular.”
Or, open with, “looks like i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue”
He should do his press conference as a homage to Clint Eastwood’s RNC speech with an empty chair on stage with him.
It would show a sense of humor.
I like your style. Political, but very funny.
I know nothing about sports and reading this thread is kinda my only exposure to this bit of drama, but my immediate thought when reading what happened was that Ronaiah has a man crush on Manti and was actually ‘Lennay’ in all the internet convos so that he could get the affection and love he wants so desperately from Manti. I mean, at this point, it wouldn’t seem that odd right? XD
One or more episodes of Catfish the TV show have gone that way.
After listening to a recap of Jeremy Schapp’s interview with Te’o today, I believe that he was simply duped and had to play up the story. Until about 48 hours ago (from now) he still wasn’t 100% certain Lennay didn’t exist. He was psychologically attached to this fictional woman.
Either that, or he is a pathological liar.
Other side of the story with plausible answers is out…close down the thread…no more fun.