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Holy Cow - Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend is a HOAX

Stemp

Stemp

Brew Master
Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax

Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, the stories said, played this season under a terrible burden. A Mormon linebacker who led his Catholic school's football program back to glory, Te'o was whipsawed between personal tragedies along the way. In the span of six hours in September, as Sports Illustrated told it, Te'o learned first of the death of his grandmother, Annette Santiago, and then of the death of his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua.

Kekua, 22 years old, had been in a serious car accident in California, and then had been diagnosed with leukemia. SI's Pete Thamel described how Te'o would phone her in her hospital room and stay on the line with her as he slept through the night. "Her relatives told him that at her lowest points, as she fought to emerge from a coma, her breathing rate would increase at the sound of his voice," Thamel wrote.

Upon receiving the news of the two deaths, Te'o went out and led the Fighting Irish to a 20-3 upset of Michigan State, racking up 12 tackles. It was heartbreaking and inspirational. Te'o would appear on ESPN's College GameDay to talk about the letters Kekua had written him during her illness. He would send a heartfelt letter to the parents of a sick child, discussing his experience with disease and grief. The South Bend Tribune wrote an article describing the young couple's fairytale meeting—she, a Stanford student; he, a Notre Dame star—after a football game outside Palo Alto.

Did you enjoy the uplifiting story, the tale of a man who responded to adversity by becoming one of the top players of the game? If so, stop reading.

Manti Te'o did lose his grandmother this past fall. Annette Santiago died on Sept. 11, 2012, at the age of 72, according to Social Security Administration records in Nexis. But there is no SSA record there of the death of Lennay Marie Kekua, that day or any other. Her passing, recounted so many times in the national media, produces no obituary or funeral announcement in Nexis, and no mention in the Stanford student newspaper.

Nor is there any report of a severe auto accident involving a Lennay Kekua. Background checks turn up nothing. The Stanford registrar's office has no record that a Lennay Kekua ever enrolled. There is no record of her birth in the news. Outside of a few Twitter and Instagram accounts, there's no online evidence that Lennay Kekua ever existed.

The photographs identified as Kekua—in online tributes and on TV news reports—are pictures from the social-media accounts of a 22-year-old California woman who is not named Lennay Kekua. She is not a Stanford graduate; she has not been in a severe car accident; and she does not have leukemia. And she has never met Manti Te'o.

Read more: http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
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Simply unbelievable......
 
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Notre Dame has released a statement.
"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. "
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So they knew BEFORE the BCS NC game and it took a Deadspin story before they release a statement??
 
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Crazy stuff. Glad he didn't win the Heisman. I wonder how many of the awards he did win were off of the sympathy vote.
 
The BCS deserves this story and it's fraudulent Golden Child. I would not be surprised if the alums had a strategic date to release this, such as the day when Obama unveils his proposals for gun control.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.
 
This is the goddamn funniest thing I have seen in a loooooooooong time! Great source material for jabs.

@michaelhayes: You know what was a good hoax? Ranking Notre Dame #2 in college football and letting them compete in the BCS title game.

Manti Te'o wasn't missing tackles in the National Championship, he was hugging his girlfriend.

@ObliviousNFLRef: Don't worry Manti, Ray Lewis killed a real person and people still love him

Ken Jennings ‏@KenJennings
WHOA. I am no longer the most famous Mormon to invent an always-suspiciously-absent "girlfriend" in college.

Manti Te'o, huge, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Weekend At Bernie's.

From Notre Dame:

"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. "

:crazy:
 
Te'o statement

"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."
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Dutchrudder said:
This is the goddamn funniest thing I have seen in a loooooooooong time! Great source material for jabs.

@michaelhayes: You know what was a good hoax? Ranking Notre Dame #2 in college football and letting them compete in the BCS title game.

Manti Te'o wasn't missing tackles in the National Championship, he was hugging his girlfriend.

@ObliviousNFLRef: Don't worry Manti, Ray Lewis killed a real person and people still love him

Ken Jennings ‏@KenJennings
WHOA. I am no longer the most famous Mormon to invent an always-suspiciously-absent "girlfriend" in college.

Manti Te'o, huge, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Weekend At Bernie's.

From Notre Dame:

"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. "

:crazy:
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LMAO MSR.

And of course ESPN is trying to portray him as the victim. B*tch, please.
 
Him knowing the story was about to break probably explains him skipping the senior bowl

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1486548-manti-teo-takes-huge-gamble-by-snubbing-senior-bowl

Participating in the Senior Bowl is a huge asset for players to shoot up the boards and start generating buzz around their names.

It seems like a must-attend event for the linebacker after two consecutive losses—Heisman vote and title game—with the national spotlight brightly on him.

Whatever ends up happening with Te’o in the NFL, he isn’t doing his draft stock any favors by opting out of the Senior Bowl.
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Crazy stuff. If he didn't Kbps it was a hoax I have to question his sensibilities. I wouldn't call him stupid, but maybe he's a ditto head?
 
Playoffs said:
Gullible, naive, most likely a virgin. I feel bad for the guy.
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From the details given so far I can't say I feel bad for him. He's been lying one way or another. Either he played a part in developing this fictitious character or he lied and overplayed his relationship with her. I doubt one of his friends would go throw such great lengths to create an entire family in addition to creating her to fool him. It's one of the strangest stories I've seen in a while, and I believe we've only heard the tip of the iceberg so far.
 
Best Tweet from a fellow college football player

Jadeveon Clowny ‏@JadeveonClowny

You wanna know what's weirder than Manti Teo making up a girlfriend then pretend killing her? Nothing.
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Rey said:
How does this affect his draft stock?

Maybe not much. Weirdos have done ok in pro sports.
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I think it depends on how much he had to do with carrying on this lie. If he had a part in this then it says something about his mental stability to me. I think the National Championship performance along with this will drop him some, but I doubt it costs him more than a round or two.
 
Texn4life said:
I think it depends on how much he had to do with carrying on this lie. If he had a part in this then it says something about his mental stability to me. I thin the National Championship performance along with this will drop him some, but I doubt it costs him more than a round or two.
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Here is something we do know....he lied. Why we don't know. He told people he met her at Stanford and in Hawaii. That is on the record. If this was online, why lie? What talk of long nights talking from the hospital? Seems to me he got busted after being way in over his head.
 
HoustonFrog said:
Here is something we do know....he lied. Why we don't know. He told people he met her at Stanford and in Hawaii. That is on the record. If this was online, why lie? What talk of long nights talking from the hospital? Seems to me he got busted after being way in over his head.
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Yeah, its the oddest of odd stories. I've heard guys lie about hooking up with girls before, but this is taking it to another level.
 
He was a Heisman finalist and the best player on the first good Notre Dame football team in years. He could have had dozens of gorgeous women on campus. I have a hard time believing he fell for a hoax. Sounds more like a publicity stunt to me.
 
The guy is a devout Mormon so it's highly likely he is a virgin waiting for marriage.

But he's either very gullible and as little self-esteem (they said he had numerous meetings planned where she never showed) or he was in on it. Which is more likely for a star linebacker at Norte dame?
 
If you actually believe his story, it would kinda make sense as to why he sucked during the National Championship game...
 
Rey said:
How does this affect his draft stock?

Maybe not much. Weirdos have done ok in pro sports.
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It would probably make you think twice about handing him a first round contract. Its much easier to take a chance on a flake if his contract has 10 million less guaranteed dollars.

Wolf said:
He did it so that he could drop in he draft to the Texans :kitten:
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I think he was already at the bottom of the first round/top of he second round type (like DeMeco Ryans was)
 
Texecutioner said:
Have no idea why this is even a story. Especially that it is the biggest news story all over the sports world.
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Because it was made such a big story around a Heisman candidate when it happened. If it wasn't made such a big deal then and leading up to the National Championship game then it wouldn't be a story today at all.
 
Texn4life said:
Because it was made such a big story around a Heisman candidate when it happened. If it wasn't made such a big deal then and leading up to the National Championship game then it wouldn't be a story today at all.
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I still don't give a damn personally. Some college kid on the ND squad made up a story about a GF so the media would flaunt all over him?? It seemed to have worked. I'll actually applaud the guy for trolling the media and bamboozling them. If they went out of their way to promote some guy for certain awards because of some story they tried to push, they're just as guilty as he is. Frankly I'm sick and tired of the media trying to cram some "feel good story" down our throats to help an athlete win something extra that wasn't done on the field. It bothers me to no end when they do that.

The guy is a ********* for lying like this and deceiving people, but I feel that the media is just as much to blame if this is all true. They tried to push this guy's story out there so he could get extra votes, and they didn't "fact check" any of it.
 
Texecutioner said:
I still don't give a damn personally. Some college kid on the ND squad made up a story about a GF so the media would flaunt all over him?? It seemed to have worked. I'll actually applaud the guy for trolling the media and bamboozling them. If they went out of their way to promote some guy for certain awards because of some story they tried to push, they're just as guilty as he is. Frankly I'm sick and tired of the media trying to cram some "feel good story" down our throats to help an athlete win something extra that wasn't done on the field. It bothers me to no end when they do that.
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I can understand that....... There are plenty of kids playing games every day going through tons of personal issues like his were thought to be or worse so I agree with you there.
 
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Texn4life said:
I can understand that....... There are plenty of kids playing game every day going through tons of personal issues like his were thought to be or worse so I agree with you there.
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And to clarify things, I do like some of the "feel good" stories that the media promotes from time to time. I loved that one on JJ Watt and those kids. I just get irritated when they use it to try and push some athlete's candidacy above others just because they had some tragedy or some type of hardship. These awards are not about the human being. It is supposed to be about their accomplishments and activities on the field.

But yeah, if the media is ticked off, because they went out of their way to sensationalize this, they got what they deserved.
 
The South Bend Tribune scrubbed the story they published of Teo physically meeting his made up girlfriend....but google cache doesn't scrub so well.

For the first time this season and seventh time in Te'o's career, his parents, Brian and Ottilia, will be in the stands for the game -- along with the youngest of his five siblings, 6-year-old brother Manasseh.

"They're watching you and they're watching someone who they've given everything they have to live his dream," Te'o said earlier this week. "My dream is to help them in their dream, too. So, it's always exciting. It's going to be a special occasion to see them in the stands."

And Manti Te'o is convinced the beautiful stranger will be watching too Saturday, somehow.

Lennay Kekua was a Stanford student and Cardinal football fan when the two exchanged glances, handshakes and phone numbers that fateful weekend three seasons ago.

She was gifted in music, multi-lingual, had dreams grounded in reality and the talent to catch up to them.

The plan was for Kekua to spend extensive time with the whole Te'o family when upwards of 40 of them came to South Bend in mid-November for ND's Senior Day date with Wake Forest.

"They started out as just friends," Brian Te'o said. "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 within the last year, they became a couple.

"And we came to the realization that she could be our daughter-in-law. Sadly, it won't happen now."

About the time Kekua and Manti became a couple, she was injured in an auto accident. There were complications during her recovery. And it was also during her recovery that it was discovered Kekua had leukemia.
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http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nti-te&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari
 
Pretty nuts this whole thing.

You have to think that it is going to severely damage the already questionable draft stock after the Championship Game.

I'm sure that there will be more to this story coming out in the next week or so, as the sports journalists descend on him, his family and friends - so there is time yet for a redeeming factor to come out in his favour, but at the moment I'm struggling to see a scenario where he goes in the first round.
 
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