Lennay Kekua, A Hoax!

[johnnykillz]

Interesting, but I am fairly certain that Manti will adhere to this:


1 Corinthians 6


Do Not Sue the Brethren

6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

If that was the case, like 5% of our board, ND law alums, would be out of work...

Lol.

Not that they all cover this facet of law...

 

[NDohio]

If that was the case, like 5% of our board, ND law alums, would be out of work...

Lol.

LOL - very true. Just how I think Manti would handle it.

 

[WaveDomer]

Deadspin's initial spin is what has ruined this. Te'o is stuck trying to prove a negative... to prove he is innocent. And there is a reason our legal system doesn't work that way.

There is not one shred of evidence he was in on this. There is not a single source with any firsthand knowledge of the situation saying he was in on it EXCEPT for Deadspin's 80% guy. There is no link between Te'o and Tuiasosopo having ever met until late November... so he would've had to concoct this whole plan with someone he never met.

There is tons upon tons of evidence that Manti wasn't involved. There is not one piece of evidence that he was involved. But that doesn't matter because everyone's first impression from Deadspin was that he was complicit... and no one wants to take a step back and see what's actually out there to draw their own conclusion.

It's a sad, sad world we live in.

We are also living in a popular culture where we are now trained to expect the lie and wait for the truth to come out at some point. This is not Manti Te'o's fault. But look at how these things usually unfold: Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Anthony Weiner, Roger Clemens, etc etc. We all now think that where there is smoke there is fire. Plus, a majority of the world has lost purpose, so they live through other people and events. So there's that too. There are industries based on that: TMZ for one. A fake girlfriend is more interesting to a lot of people than their actual wife and kids.

 

[Like.a.Champion]

We are also living in a popular culture where we are now trained to expect the lie and wait for the truth to come out at some point. This is not Manti Te'o's fault. But look at how these things usually unfold: Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Anthony Weiner, Roger Clemens, etc etc. We all now think that where there is smoke there is fire. Plus, a majority of the world has lost purpose, so they live through other people and events. So there's that too. There are industries based on that: TMZ for one. A fake girlfriend is more interesting to a lot of people than their actual wife and kids.

Exactly this. Our society craves juicy gossip. And by juicy gossip, I mean God-less negativity and controversy. Sad state of affairs. Man, what happened to the good ole days of hard work, and mind your own business. I enjoy news and current events, but "shock" entertainment is just about to get old.

 

[phork]

Given that Deadspin quoted an anonymous source who said he was "80 percent sure" Te'o had played a role in the hoax, I asked Burke if Deadspin is too invested in that being the truth. "We would have printed whatever our sources said," Burke said. "We had three separate sources, all of whom were directly connected to somebody who had known [alleged hoaxster] Ronaiah Tuiasosopo themselves or had spoken with Tuiasosopo about the hoax. All three of those people expressed the belief that Te'o had a part in the hoax. When we are trying to gauge where in the situation responsibility lies, we are going to ask the people closest to the situation. We reported what they told us. Whether or not Te'o is involved does not matter to me -- it's not of interest."

Read More: Inside the Te'o story, plus AFC, NFC title game reviews - More Sports - Richard Deitsch - SI.com

Deadspin sucks. Not that it needed to be said.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Deadspin sucks. Not that it needed to be said.

Wow. So they contacted J.R. Vaosa, Celeste Tuioti-Mariner and one other person they found on Twitter who apparently knew about the hoax, asked them for comment, and decided the "80% sure" comment-- a serious smear against Te'o-- had been properly verified? F*cking slime ball. Were that printed in almost any other country, Te'o would be able to sue the sh!t out of Deadspin.

Are you still willing to giving these guys the benefit of the doubt, Rhode? I know they've scooped a couple decent stories before, and kudos to them for having the technological chops to utilize socia media to do it in this case, but to smear a 22-year-old kid like this and then refuse to admit culpability once the truth is out? Burke is terrible human being.

 

[Kak7304]

Haven't gone through them yet, but here are quite a few tweets collected by deadspin.

A Near-Complete Twitter Archive For Lennay Kekua And Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

 

[STLDomer]

Wilbon just spoke some truth, pretty much said no one would give a **** about this story if he didn't go to Notre Dame

 

[Kak7304]

Lennay's first 4 tweets:

8-Oct-11
2:47 PM
lovalovaloveYOU
I was born today into the Twitter world.

9-Oct-11
7:15 PM
lovalovaloveYOU
Southern CA is so precious to me.

9-Oct-11
10:03 PM
lovalovaloveYOU
@HeismanWoods Friday night now that I think of it

9-Oct-11
10:31 PM
lovalovaloveYOU
@HeismanWoods i knew it hehe i'm new to twitter. the boys said you were really cool.

Right to Robert Woods.

 

[Kak7304]

And a few more.

24-Oct-11
10:55 AM
lovalovaloveYOU
@HeismanWoods haha you're crazy. I see you. You ain't bout' that life tho'! Have a blessed week. See you Sat! Or maybe chapel lol

24-Oct-11
11:00 AM
lovalovaloveYOU
@HeismanWoods haha Idk I dont think so. Did he seem mad to you?

 

[tadman95]

Haven't gone through them yet, but here are quite a few tweets collected by deadspin.

A Near-Complete Twitter Archive For Lennay Kekua And Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

Here's a comment left below the story posted on deadspin:

hollo10 13 minutes ago
Maybe you guys should have found these before you decided to destroy the man's reputation? Maybe you shouldve tried to speak to some of his friends? Maybe you should have tried to speak to the University? Maybe you SHOULD HAVE TRIED TO SPEAK TO HIM?

I like "hollo10"

 

[IrishLax]

Wow. So they contacted J.R. Vaosa, Celeste Tuioti-Mariner and one other person they found on Twitter who apparently knew about the hoax, asked them for comment, and decided the "80% sure" comment-- a serious smear against Te'o-- had been properly verified? F*cking slime ball. Were that printed in almost any other country, Te'o would be able to sue the sh!t out of Deadspin.

Are you still willing to giving these guys the benefit of the doubt, Rhode? I know they've scooped a couple decent stories before, and kudos to them for having the technological chops to utilize socia media to do it in this case, but to smear a 22-year-old kid like this and then refuse to admit culpability once the truth is out? Burke is terrible human being.

Yeah, the worst part of it all to me is that they haven't retracted the "Te'o and Tuiasosopo were big buds and family friends" line of BS from the story. This is a MAJOR linchpin in the idea that they were able to plan this thing together in 2008.

Truth is they never met until November 2012. So how the hell could Manti enter into an elaborate hoax with this many layers with someone he had NEVER MET TO PLAN THE THING.

Riddle me that Deadspin......

 

[Kak7304]

Dead Letters: All The Hate Mail We've Received Since Publishing Our Manti Te'o Story

Deadspin also published letters/emails criticizing their actions. Seems pretty juvenile and unprofessional to me.

 

[phork]

Wilbon just spoke some truth, pretty much said no one would give a **** about this story if he didn't go to Notre Dame

Didn't go to ND. Didn't go 12-0. Didn't finish 2nd in Heisman voting.

 

[Kak7304]

Article by Jemele

Article by Jemele

I included the entire article so you do not have to click. Jemele Hill is one of the worst, most biased journalists at ESPN and spins almost everything into a race issue (this being one of the rare cases where she doesn't).

Notre Dame stumbles again in handling Manti Te'o story - ESPN

If you recall, the Penn State child sex abuse scandal was supposed to be college football's teachable moment, because it was a case study in how unchecked power and misguided loyalty is a toxin to integrity.

While the criminality at the root of Penn State's crisis in no way compares to the evolving soap opera Notre Dame has on its hands with Manti Te'o, there are similar missteps -- namely the clumsy rush to protect the school and the team's reputation, potentially at the expense of their integrity.

Just like at Penn State, a pattern of willing cluelessness has emerged at Notre Dame.

[+] EnlargeSwarbrick
AP Photo/Joe RaymondNotre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick defends Manti Te'o.

All season, Te'o's story had been upheld as the most inspirational in college football, if not in all of sports. Te'o's story was characterized as a heartwarming fable, and it turns out a significant part of it was exactly that -- the tallest of tales.

Lennay Kekua, the loving girlfriend who supposedly died the same day as Te'o's grandmother, never existed. Kekua and Te'o's "relationship" existed only online and over the phone.

The truth is, as Te'o told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in an off-camera interview Friday night, Te'o never even met Kekua. He has maintained that he is the victim of a hoax. Te'o admitted to reporters he "tailored" stories of his relationship -- where I'm from, that's called lying -- and despite the numerous red flags about Kekua's existence, Te'o seemed very comfortable describing their relationship as if it were a Harlequin romance.

Te'o claims he was just too ashamed to admit that he never met Kekua. But regardless of whether you believe Te'o is guilty or simply was "catfished" -- and I'll be the first to admit that I'm still having a difficult time seeing him completely as a victim -- the most bizarre sight in this entire ordeal was Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick becoming emotional as he adamantly supported Te'o at a hastily called news conference last week.

Let that sink in: An athletic director calling a news conference to explain a star linebacker's involvement with a fake dead girlfriend.

"Nothing about what I have learned has shaken my faith in Manti Te'o one iota," Swarbrick said. "The same great young man, great student, and great athlete that we have been so proud to have be a member of our family is the same guy tonight, unchanged in any way."

Swarbrick's praise of Te'o and his eagerness to acquit his star linebacker of any wrongdoing after Notre Dame conducted a flimsy investigation into the matter is dubious, at best.

Maybe in time there will be a better understanding of why such emphatic public support was warranted. But as Swarbrick choked back tears, just one question popped into my mind.

Did Swarbrick ever cry for Lizzy Seeberg?

You see, this is far from the first time that Notre Dame has stood by a football player in the midst of some questionable circumstances.

In 2010, Seeberg, who was a student at St. Mary's College, which is right across the street from Notre Dame and is its sister school, accused a Notre Dame football player of sexual assault. And the reason I say Seeberg "was" a student is because she committed suicide 10 days after reporting the assault to Notre Dame campus police.

The identity of the football player allegedly involved remains unknown. But what is known is that campus police didn't even bother to interview the accused player until five days after Seeberg was dead. The local prosecutor refused to press charges. And, to date, Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins has refused to meet with Seeberg's family.

Notre Dame's investigation into Kekua hinged mostly on evidence provided by Te'o, but the school still responded with greater alacrity to a report of a fictitious person than Seeberg's accusations.

[+] EnlargeNotre Dame Helmet
Cal Sport Media/AP ImagesThis is another opportunity for Notre Dame to reflect on what it sees in those golden helmets.

But Seeberg's tragic suicide is merely the extension of a much more significant problem, which exists not just at Notre Dame, but across the entire sports landscape.

Part of the reason Notre Dame's role in Te'o's saga warrants a wary eye is because the school's actions seem to denote that it has formed a clear priority list, and almost always the golden helmet is uncontested at the top spot.

This is the same university that reinstated wide receiver Michael Floyd in August 2011 after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from a DUI arrest the previous March. Even though it was Floyd's third alcohol-related offense in two years, the school's student judiciary office chose not to suspend him.

Floyd missed spring ball, but he was allowed to participate in voluntary workouts that summer. He never missed a single game, either.

"We took football away and it was really about making a decision to change his life because I didn't believe suspending for a game or two was going to make a difference," coach Brian Kelly said at the time.

Took football away?

This isn't about whether Floyd deserved yet another chance. It's fair to wonder whether Te'o's drama is just another example of Notre Dame being too eager to protect its football aura.

It seems that no matter how many precedents show the dangers of blindly idolizing football programs, they never diminish the ability to repeat integrity-sapping mistakes.

Of course, it's possible that in time, Te'o's explanation will seem more reasonable and Swarbrick's vigilant, public defense of Te'o will seem more sensible.

But as of now, Notre Dame deserves healthy suspicion. The school has earned it.

 

[Irish#1]

This whole episode smells rotten. The off-camera interview has not reduced my suspicion a bit.

Te'o has admitted lying about the "girlfriend": he may or may not have perpetrated the hoax but he definitely perpetuated it.

I was always uncomfortable with this cloyingly over-sentimental public grief. Isn't true grief a private affair? Shouldn't anyone be suspicious of anybody who airs their grief in this unseemly public way, particularly when they stand to benefit from it? Why was this made so very public in the first place? Whose idea was that? Was it just an off-hand remark in front of a journalist that somehow blew up, or was it a planned campaign from the start? I think ND has a lot to answer for in this business. This maudlin wallowing was always cheap and tawdry. While I'm not certain Te'o is lying about being a victim-----and I'm not at all convinced at this point that he's simply an innocent idiot------I have never been on the virtual canonization trip that the ND sports PR dept. put on all year. Schools put on Heisman campaigns, sure, but this one was waaaay over the top.

Even if this involved no hoax at all, Te'o's grief should never have been exploited in this way. ND needs to reflect and learn from this situation. It never should have been more than a one-time mention at the time of the alleged grief-producing event(s). When have you ever experienced such sturm und drang over the death of an adult's grandmother? Sheesh!

Te'o comes out of this either a knave or a fool, and perhaps both. ND is not completely innocent in this, either.

It is truly frightening to view some of the ND football chatrooms and see the idiotic fanatic/paranoid/condescending posts put up there by supposed ND alumni. It's actually scary.

Pack your bags chump.

 

[Emcee77]

FYI, this from HLS is kinda incorrect. At best he could only recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and even then couldn't get draft damages unless they're directly caused by the subsequent damage to his mental state (say, he had a mental breakdown or something and people wondered whether he could play). Could go into more detail but it's pretty boring.

Well, maybe, but I'm interested, for one ...

Of course you are right that the conduct here was clearly intentional, so I have no idea why the HLS writer even mentions NIED ... but Teo may be able to make out an IIED case. I took a couple minutes to do some quick research on IIED in California (I assume California law would apply), and found this case: 7 cal. 3d 616 - Google Scholar which was summarized thusly: "an insurance investigator, without disclosing his purpose, befriended an accident victim, dated her, and deliberately subjected her to situations involving a risk of serious physical injury in order to gather evidence to be used against her in a worker's compensation case." The court held that the plaintiff's IIED claim was sufficient on those facts to survive a motion to dismiss. Not sure Teo couldn't apply that decision to his own case ... kind of similar with the fake romantic relationship and all.

You raise a great point about damages ... not sure Teo could prove a loss of draft position due to this, but I have to think that Teo could get a jury to buy that Tuisosopo caused him severe emotional distress such that he is entitled to some minimal, even nominal, sum. It doesn't sound like Teo wants to bring that action, but maybe he'll decide to do it just to clear his name, who knows.

 

[Seanthornton]

Innocent til proven guilty.............I have seen nothing that really convinces me that Teo did anything wrong. He's a young man, sometimes young men make decisions without thinking everything out. I know I made a few questionable ones when I was younger. Its a part of growing up.

 

[Kak7304]

Innocent til proven guilty.............I have seen nothing that really convinces me that Teo did anything wrong. He's a young man, sometimes young men make decisions without thinking everything out. I know I made a few questionable ones when I was younger. Its a part of growing up.

The only evidence put forth to even suggest he was involved was the "80%" quote in the deadspin article. He's a young man who was naive and will learn from his mistakes. I also do not think this will hurt his draft stock. Manti has proven time and time again to be a high-character man who will be open and honest in his NFL interviews and will use them as an opportunity to show front offices who he truly is. If people want to discuss character issues affecting draft status, Tyrann Mathieu is a better target than Manti Te'o. In a league with Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth, Ray Lewis, the Bengals, and Lions, Te'o will look like a choir boy.

 

[justinpham]

I included the entire article so you do not have to click. Jemele Hill is one of the worst, most biased journalists at ESPN and spins almost everything into a race issue (this being one of the rare cases where she doesn't).

Notre Dame stumbles again in handling Manti Te'o story - ESPN

this article is full of faulty arguments and misleading info all to spin the story enough to come to her own conclusion. here's what we're dealing with here - from our good friends at Wikipedia:

Controversy
During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Hill was suspended from her post after referencing Adolf Hitler in an article about the then-NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. In an editorial describing why she could not support the Celtics, Hill wrote: "Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan. Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics." The comments immediately generated a negative response from readers and that portion of the editorial was taken out shortly after the column was published. Hill was subsequently suspended for one week and issued an apology through ESPN.[3][4]
Later in 2009, Hill once again was reprimanded for her comments after comparing University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coach John Calipari to Charles Manson.[5] She later apologized to the university.[6]
Hill has also been criticized for taking unpopular or extreme stances, leading many to accuse her of inflating her ESPN.com page hits by creating controversy. She has also been accused of racism and being obsessed with race. [7]

 

[IrishLax]

this article is full of faulty arguments and misleading info all to spin the story enough to come to her own conclusion. here's what we're dealing with here - from our good friends at Wikipedia:

Controversy
During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Hill was suspended from her post after referencing Adolf Hitler in an article about the then-NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. In an editorial describing why she could not support the Celtics, Hill wrote: "Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan. Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics." The comments immediately generated a negative response from readers and that portion of the editorial was taken out shortly after the column was published. Hill was subsequently suspended for one week and issued an apology through ESPN.[3][4]
Later in 2009, Hill once again was reprimanded for her comments after comparing University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coach John Calipari to Charles Manson.[5] She later apologized to the university.[6]
Hill has also been criticized for taking unpopular or extreme stances, leading many to accuse her of inflating her ESPN.com page hits by creating controversy. She has also been accused of racism and being obsessed with race. [7]

Wow Wikipedia nailed it....

 

[kmoose]

Ok. I've kept relatively quiet on this subject, hoping to hear more actual news, and less speculation. But this is getting ridiculous...... we all do at least some chatting on the internet, based on our interactions here. I have chatted, off and on, in chat rooms, for about 15 years now. Teo falling for a girl who wasn't real is a COMMON occurrence, online. Now it's possible that he was involved in conjuring this thing up, for his own personal gain, and then had the fallback position that he was duped, figuring that people would buy that easily since it happens so often. But I haven't seen him exhibit any behavior that would lead me to suspect that. It's not a big stretch to think that he was embarrassed about being a national celebrity, and having an online girlfriend, so he lied about having met her. It was probably a lie that he initially thought would go no further than his family. But then his dad spoke to a reporter about it, and it was out there in public. Why isn't anyone in the media asking why this was such a big story in the first place? I mean, it was certainly worth talking about............... for a week or so. But the media are the ones who blew this story up into something HUGE, and now they are pissed off that THEY look foolish, so they are going after this kid. When the University stepped in between the media and Teo, then the media got pissed about not getting their pound of flesh, so they started insinuating that maybe the University had somehow been complicit in the whole affair. If President Obama came out, tomorrow, and chastised the media while appearing to stand behind Teo, ESPN would have a story up, in hours, insinuating that the White House might somehow have been involved. The addiction to narcotics has nothing on the addiction to hubris, in today's society.

 

[Jerry]

Well, maybe, but I'm interested, for one ...

Of course you are right that the conduct here was clearly intentional, so I have no idea why the HLS writer even mentions NIED ... but Teo may be able to make out an IIED case. I took a couple minutes to do some quick research on IIED in California (I assume California law would apply), and found this case: 7 cal. 3d 616 - Google Scholar which was summarized thusly: "an insurance investigator, without disclosing his purpose, befriended an accident victim, dated her, and deliberately subjected her to situations involving a risk of serious physical injury in order to gather evidence to be used against her in a worker's compensation case." The court held that the plaintiff's IIED claim was sufficient on those facts to survive a motion to dismiss. Not sure Teo couldn't apply that decision to his own case ... kind of similar with the fake romantic relationship and all.

You raise a great point about damages ... not sure Teo could prove a loss of draft position due to this, but I have to think that Teo could get a jury to buy that Tuisosopo caused him severe emotional distress such that he is entitled to some minimal, even nominal, sum. It doesn't sound like Teo wants to bring that action, but maybe he'll decide to do it just to clear his name, who knows.

I wonder if its worth the huge distraction for Teo to go through that legal process. It might be better to put it to rest. In reality 6 months from now the majority of the public will barely remember this story. It's already died down a ton on twitter and message boards (mostly because the recent reports aren't developing the conspiracy people wanted). But dragging this scum bag to court and relieving this episode might affect his rookie season and there probably isn't much monetary value in it anyway.

 

[Emcee77]

I wonder if its worth the huge distraction for Teo to go through that legal process. It might be better to put it to rest. In reality 6 months from now the majority of the public will barely remember this story. It's already died down a ton on twitter and message boards (mostly because the recent reports aren't developing the conspiracy people wanted). But dragging this scum bag to court and relieving this episode might affect his rookie season and there probably isn't much monetary value in it anyway.

There definitely isn't any monetary value in it, and I agree with you that Teo would be better off just letting it die. It's quite clear that he had no part in it and anyone who doesn't see that is just not paying attention or is willfully blind to the facts. Teo has nothing to gain from dragging Tuisosopo through a lawsuit, and probably something to lose. People who want to believe he was a part of the hoax won't be dissuaded from it by the lawsuit. They'll just compare him to Lance Armstrong, say he is not just a hoaxster but a bully with some nerve, bringing a lawsuit against his co-conspirator. Not worth it. He should just move on -- which is exactly what I think he will do.

 

[irishtrain]

Ok. I've kept relatively quiet on this subject, hoping to hear more actual news, and less speculation. But this is getting ridiculous...... we all do at least some chatting on the internet, based on our interactions here. I have chatted, off and on, in chat rooms, for about 15 years now. Teo falling for a girl who wasn't real is a COMMON occurrence, online. Now it's possible that he was involved in conjuring this thing up, for his own personal gain, and then had the fallback position that he was duped, figuring that people would buy that easily since it happens so often. But I haven't seen him exhibit any behavior that would lead me to suspect that. It's not a big stretch to think that he was embarrassed about being a national celebrity, and having an online girlfriend, so he lied about having met her. It was probably a lie that he initially thought would go no further than his family. But then his dad spoke to a reporter about it, and it was out there in public. Why isn't anyone in the media asking why this was such a big story in the first place? I mean, it was certainly worth talking about............... for a week or so. But the media are the ones who blew this story up into something HUGE, and now they are pissed off that THEY look foolish, so they are going after this kid. When the University stepped in between the media and Teo, then the media got pissed about not getting their pound of flesh, so they started insinuating that maybe the University had somehow been complicit in the whole affair. If President Obama came out, tomorrow, and chastised the media while appearing to stand behind Teo, ESPN would have a story up, in hours, insinuating that the White House might somehow have been involved. The addiction to narcotics has nothing on the addiction to hubris, in today's society.

Media has egg on its face without a big enough bib to wipe it off. Notre Dame has (as we knew) come out clean. Media now wants to pick the bones of a dead story to say there must be something else here. Media dislikes Notre Dame because Notre Dame (and Manti Teo) are CLEAN. The people who now slander in any way just make an @$# out of themselves. Manti Teo comes off looking like a trusting kid taken in by a bunch of vultures. CASE CLOSED. This all comes down to fear which cases hatred and by the way Notre Dame once again has a fine football program that is not going away.

 

[Rhode Irish]

I included the entire article so you do not have to click. Jemele Hill is one of the worst, most biased journalists at ESPN and spins almost everything into a race issue (this being one of the rare cases where she doesn't).

Notre Dame stumbles again in handling Manti Te'o story - ESPN

It has long been my opinion that Hill is the worst writer I've ever read. From a structural standpoint, she's perfectly fine and I'm sure she is very well educated and trained. But my issue with her is that she repeatedly, and very nearly exclusively, writes and says some astonishingly stupid things.

I say this with a complete absence of snark and in an entirely serious way: her brain does not work properly. Not in the same way that a mentally disabled person's brain doesn't work (again, I'm not being snarky), but in the way that a scale that is off by two units of measure can never be right and will always be off by two units of measure, whether it is measuring the weight of an ant or an elephant.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Notre Dame football: Bishop adds his perspective to Te'o's saga - southbendtribune.com

 

[BeauBenken]

Tom Socca (Deadspin) in reference to the 80% quote:

Now people seem to be trying to convince each other that the story pivoted on that, which it didn't. The story pivoted on the fact that the girlfriend never existed.

It hinged on exactly that. That's exactly why Deadspin couldn't even defend it's own argument as to why they believed Te'o to be in on it.

 

[TerryTate]

Tom Socca (Deadspin) in reference to the 80% quote:

It hinged on exactly that. That's exactly why Deadspin couldn't even defend it's own argument as to why they believed Te'o to be in on it.

Is that the dude that looked like a douche on live TV?

 

[BeauBenken]

Is that the dude that looked like a douche on live TV?

Nope, that's Koblin.

This is the guy who is managing to look like a douche without ever even appearing on live TV.