Lennay Kekua, A Hoax!

[wizards8507]

The more I think about the timeline, the more I'm 100% on Manti's side. The main point that everyone is making against him is that he supposedly found out about the hoax on December 6 and then continued to talk about Lennay's death on December 8. There are two possible reasons for this, and either one is based on Manti telling the truth:

1. Manti may have still believed that Lennay existed and died of cancer, but that the "hoax" was this new person claiming to be Lennay alive. We don't know if Manti went straight to the conclusion that she was fake all along, or if he first thought she was real but someone was messing with him starting December 6.

2. Manti did figure out that the whole thing was a hoax on December 6, but was advised to let the situation play out and not let on that he figured it out. This wasn't done for media attention. It was done because there was a chance that this hoax led to criminal activity in the form of extortion, and any attorneys involved would have wanted to let the criminals bury themselves before spilling the beans that they had it figured out.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Well, if ESPN or any other major media outlet isn't gonna do it, why the hell not- go Nev! I saw he reached out to Te'o yesterday or the days before...ironically through Twitter. Not sure that would be the best way to get the man's ear these days...

Ha. I said the same thing. There's no way that Manti is on twitter or any other social media right now. Hell, I bet he isn't even watching tv or listening to the radio.

I am glad that Nev is reaching out to him. The truth needs to come out. It will eventually.

 

[ThePiombino]

Why? The court of public opinion will just move on to the next thing. Make this go away by not talking about it anymore. People have their opinion already and little will change it IMO.

Not a very well thought out reply here. Obviously there are going to be haters that are gonna hate [insert MEME here], but there are a lot (read: most) of people who are on the fence and don't know what to believe here.

Manti coming out and setting the record straight, no matter how publicly humiliating, would do more to help him than staying quiet and letting the rumor mongers continue to spew garbage.

 

[ND NYC]

needs to establish the following.

he communicated to her online and also on the phone (too many people think this was just an online thing. jack didnt do good job on this part)

prove that he did what he said he did in all these interviews: talk on the phone all nigh-then show the phone bill. sent flowers than show the reciept/credit card records.

there has to be letters (sent from lennay) he still has. show them.

in short-he has to make a case in the court of public opinion that yes im an idiot but you would be too based on all these facts ive shown you. gotta pay the victim card to hilt and be a sympathetic figure

i listen to radio, watch tv, scour the web and there is soooo much MISINFORMATION on this whole thing. people need to know the facts on this. thinking it is going away (ostrich) is not a good strategy here. this will linger. the media muckrakers were awoiken from their slumber when this broke and now all sorts of stuff is going to be posted, printed etc there is NO WAY Manti can react and respond tho the BS that is to come. he needs to define the narrative and the truth here lest it be done for him.

 

[WaveDomer]

I was listening to MoJo on CBS Sports Radio last night and they both thought that Te'o shouldn't say anything. Basically, "I told you I was hoaxed. If some don't believe me, so be it." They thought people would move on and since nobody (besides Te'o) got hurt and it wasn't a crime, just move on. I tend to agree with them a bit. I think because we are ND fans, we want to hear what happened, but it probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme. He will have to talk with GM in the NFL about it anyway. He will get garbage from fans and players regardless. This will be a weird story but people will move on.

 

[NDBoiler]

Now minor league baseball is getting in on making fun of Manti:

Florence Freedom ballclub to have Manti Te'o Girlfriend Bobblehead Day - ESPN

Insane.

Wow. Whoever came up with this idea and the timing (for an event that will happen in 4 months from now nonetheless) might as well have "I HAVE NO CLASS OR INTEGRITY" tattooed on their forehead. Smh

 

[Emcee77]

I'm sure his agent is setting something up, probably in a one-on-one setting like Lance did. This is such a compelling story that it is better told in a coherent, edited narrative rather than pieced together from scattered answers at a press conference.

 

[wizards8507]

Well, if ESPN or any other major media outlet isn't gonna do it, why the hell not- go Nev! I saw he reached out to Te'o yesterday or the days before...ironically through Twitter. Not sure that would be the best way to get the man's ear these days...

Nev has become the face of "New Media Journalism" in the last three days. He didn't say WHO exactly, but apparently unknown parties in this whole saga have reached out to HIM to come forward with new information about how vast this whole thing might have been beyond Manti. He alluded to the fact that there are multiple victims (I think it's save to use the word "victim") but it's unclear if he's heard from those victims themselves or others who may have witnessed the victims get ensnared by the Catfish(es). It's a shame that these other victims probably won't come forward out of embarassment, but hopefully one of them is brave enough to talk to the media openly and really put the nail in the coffin of this whole saga.

This. I'm questioning why news outlets aren't taking a different angle on this story. Rather than crush Manti, why not set up a version of "To Catch a Predator" and build on what Nev is already doing with Catfish on MTV.

It's sad, isn't it? A lot of people even on this forum who were on "Manti's side" were incredulous that Jack Swarbrick mentioned "Catfishing" in his press conference. I know MTV isn't known as the source of hard hitting journalism but Nev and his team seem to be the only people out there who are investigating this thing without an agenda other than getting the facts at the bottom of it. Everyone else (in the media) seems more interested in spouting their opinions and interviewing "annonymous sources close to Te'o's cousin's ex-girlfriend's former soccer coach who watched a Notre Dame game on TV once."

 

[wallym]

I was listening to MoJo on CBS Sports Radio last night and they both thought that Te'o shouldn't say anything. Basically, "I told you I was hoaxed. If some don't believe me, so be it." They thought people would move on and since nobody (besides Te'o) got hurt and it wasn't a crime, just move on. I tend to agree with them a bit. I think because we are ND fans, we want to hear what happened, but it probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme. He will have to talk with GM in the NFL about it anyway. He will get garbage from fans and players regardless. This will be a weird story but people will move on.

I somewhat agree to not say anything, but there may be a bigger, criminal investigation going on into an extortion attempt. If this guy duped other NFL players into a similar situation, they may be holding evidence and told Teo to say nothing for now. if there were letters written, these could be used as evidence.

 

[ThePiombino]

I was listening to MoJo on CBS Sports Radio last night and they both thought that Te'o shouldn't say anything. Basically, "I told you I was hoaxed. If some don't believe me, so be it." They thought people would move on and since nobody (besides Te'o) got hurt and it wasn't a crime, just move on. I tend to agree with them a bit. I think because we are ND fans, we want to hear what happened, but it probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme. He will have to talk with GM in the NFL about it anyway. He will get garbage from fans and players regardless. This will be a weird story but people will move on.

In a vacuum, I would agree. However, there are too many moving parts here. For one, his draft stock is arguably dropping because there is so much misinformation out there. He needs to come out for no other reason at this point than to set the record straight and clear his name.

 

[wizards8507]

needs to establish the following.

he communicated to her online and also on the phone (too many people think this was just an online thing. jack didnt do good job on this part)

prove that he did what he said he did in all these interviews: talk on the phone all nigh-then show the phone bill. sent flowers than show the reciept/credit card records.

there has to be letters (sent from lennay) he still has. show them.

in short-he has to make a case in the court of public opinion that yes im an idiot but you would be too based on all these facts ive shown you. gotta pay the victim card to hilt and be a sympathetic figure

i listen to radio, watch tv, scour the web and there is soooo much MISINFORMATION on this whole thing. people need to know the facts on this. thinking it is going away (ostrich) is not a good strategy here. this will linger. the media muckrakers were awoiken from their slumber when this broke and now all sorts of stuff is going to be posted, printed etc there is NO WAY Manti can react and respond tho the BS that is to come. he needs to define the narrative and the truth here lest it be done for him.

Jack was very clear about the phone & internet communications in the Q&A section of the press conference. He did say "exclusively online" in his initial comments but he clarified later. The problem is, the media refuses to report that part. Even if Manti came out and said the exact same thing, I'm not confident that this media will do anything more than selectively edit it out just like the've done with Swarbrick.

 

[wizards8507]

In a vacuum, I would agree. However, there are too many moving parts here. For one, his draft stock is arguably dropping because there is so much misinformation out there. He needs to come out for no other reason at this point than to set the record straight and clear his name.

Maybe, but something tells me Bill Belichick isn't sitting on Twitter or ESPN message boards listening to the haters bash Manti. The people who need a middle linebacker are going to do their due dilligence on this issue more than the lazy media and people who believe the lazy media.

Side note: I used to believe the media were lazy but now it looks more and more like their misinformation is intentional.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

The more I think about the timeline, the more I'm 100% on Manti's side. The main point that everyone is making against him is that he supposedly found out about the hoax on December 6 and then continued to talk about Lennay's death on December 8. There are two possible reasons for this, and either one is based on Manti telling the truth:

1. Manti may have still believed that Lennay existed and died of cancer, but that the "hoax" was this new person claiming to be Lennay alive. We don't know if Manti went straight to the conclusion that she was fake all along, or if he first thought she was real but someone was messing with him starting December 6.

2. Manti did figure out that the whole thing was a hoax on December 6, but was advised to let the situation play out and not let on that he figured it out. This wasn't done for media attention. It was done because there was a chance that this hoax led to criminal activity in the form of extortion, and any attorneys involved would have wanted to let the criminals bury themselves before spilling the beans that they had it figured out.

Completely agree. Both are possible and imo, the most believable. Although I do believe he slightly embellished the story for the media. I'm 80% sure he said in the beginning they were friends. Then as the story gained momentum and he had to keep doing interviews it grew into "the love of his life." I have a slight issue with that. Unfortunately, it's minor things like that that the media are going after him for. Instead of thinking logically and coming to a more realistic conclusion.

 

[ThePiombino]

Maybe, but something tells me Bill Belichick isn't sitting on Twitter or ESPN message boards listening to the haters bash Manti. The people who need a middle linebacker are going to do their due dilligence on this issue more than the lazy media and people who believe the lazy media.

Side note: I used to believe the media were lazy but now it looks more and more like their misinformation is intentional.

I hear what you're saying, but the point is that not only is he losing out on potential endorsement earnings (previously estimated to be ~$500K in losses over this), but he's also now being seriously talked about dropped at or below 19/20. This is a guy who was top-5 on most boards pre-NCG. There is going to be a significant amount of money lost here. That ain't right.

 

[Emcee77]

The more I think about the timeline, the more I'm 100% on Manti's side. The main point that everyone is making against him is that he supposedly found out about the hoax on December 6 and then continued to talk about Lennay's death on December 8. There are two possible reasons for this, and either one is based on Manti telling the truth:

1. Manti may have still believed that Lennay existed and died of cancer, but that the "hoax" was this new person claiming to be Lennay alive. We don't know if Manti went straight to the conclusion that she was fake all along, or if he first thought she was real but someone was messing with him starting December 6.

2. Manti did figure out that the whole thing was a hoax on December 6, but was advised to let the situation play out and not let on that he figured it out. This wasn't done for media attention. It was done because there was a chance that this hoax led to criminal activity in the form of extortion, and any attorneys involved would have wanted to let the criminals bury themselves before spilling the beans that they had it figured out.

Exactly. If I were in Manti's shoes, my first thought on Dec. 6 would not be, "My g/f never existed." It would be, "someone is trying to take advantage of my g/f's death to scam me"

 

[Booslum31]

Manti making HUGE mistake not dicussing this.

this Condon has NO CLUE.

he HAS to go before the cameras on this and explain his side.

no surrogates, family members etc.

he's already a day late and every day that goes by without him ON CAMERA is another vote in the court of public opinion against him.

focus on the wrongdoers and Ronnie Tuisasopo keep referring to him, pooka etc. turn him into the SCUMBAG he is for all to see and cop only to telling white lies due to embarassment of online nature of the relationship. "to me it was real, we talked, communicate dall the time etc"

this actually isnt that hard

I agree that Manti needs to get in front of a camera...I don't agree that he should be there by himself. You have seen him interviewed..not his strong suit. I think that his representation should be there with him. If he has been wronged to the degree that I believe he was...he should be extremely eager to set things right. After Swarbrick went all in for Teo...Teo has a little obligation to Swarbrick as well. No doubt it will be the most humiliating day of his life but it starts to fade away after that and healing and forgetting begins.

 

[wizards8507]

I hear what you're saying, but the point is that not only is he losing out on potential endorsement earnings (previously estimated to be ~$500K in losses over this), but he's also now being seriously talked about dropped at or below 19/20. This is a guy who was top-5 on most boards pre-NCG. There is going to be a significant amount of money lost here. That ain't right.

Agreed that "it ain't right" but we also have to remember the short attention span of the media and public in general. NOBODY fell harder than El Tigre and he's still making Nike ads and on the cover of video games. Yes, he lost a lot of endorsements but people forget and move on. If Manti starts laying people out in the middle of the field and making generally awesome action photos with his giant tribal tattoo, he'll be on the Madden cover before long. This may impact his draft status which whill hurt his initial contract, but he'll still make a lot of money and all future contracts will be based on whether he plays like a turkey or like a pro bowler.

Also, Ray Lewis.

 

[Kingbish01]

Did anyone else have a feeling something was not right when this whole thing came out. I gotta be honest, when I heard she died it didn't say from what. So I was all up in google looking for anything and I came up with nothing. Using her name I figured I would come up with a death notice, obituary or a fundraiser of some sort.

 

[tko]

[/IMG]

 

[BobD]

I wonder how many people have realized they're being "catfished" because of this story?


Glad I already have a wife.....No,honestly I do. I've seen her.

 

[Booslum31]

Did anyone else have a feeling something was not right when this whole thing came out. I gotta be honest, when I heard she died it didn't say from what. So I was all up in google looking for anything and I came up with nothing. Using her name I figured I would come up with a death notice, obituary or a fundraiser of some sort.

My wife (who cares about ND football 1/1000 as much as me) got caught up in the story and asked why aren't they showing a picture of her? I said that I thought it was because she was sick for a long time. She said there should still be a picture. Then we moved on.

 

[WaveDomer]

In a vacuum, I would agree. However, there are too many moving parts here. For one, his draft stock is arguably dropping because there is so much misinformation out there. He needs to come out for no other reason at this point than to set the record straight and clear his name.

Isn't he going to end up talking to NFL teams anyway before the draft? I think the court of public opinion is one thing, but NFL teams are not going to miss out on a quality guy without doing the legwork necessary to figure out if he's got issues. So I don't know how much he drops in the draft. You have a point regarding potential endorsements though. But maybe this case isn't so cut and dried. I'm not saying he's lying about it, but maybe there isn't a lot of physical type evidence for his side.

 

[wizards8507]

Did anyone else have a feeling something was not right when this whole thing came out. I gotta be honest, when I heard she died it didn't say from what. So I was all up in google looking for anything and I came up with nothing. Using her name I figured I would come up with a death notice, obituary or a fundraiser of some sort.

I did find it odd that it went from "friend" to "good friend" to "girlfriend" and then back and forth between "girlfriend" and "good friend" for awhile before finally settling on "girlfriend."

 

[ND NYC]

to poster above i agree on having someone with some "polish" and PR savvy sitting beside manti on the dais to help him out.

 

[wizards8507]

Isn't he going to end up talking to NFL teams anyway before the draft? I think the court of public opinion is one thing, but NFL teams are not going to miss out on a quality guy without doing the legwork necessary to figure out if he's got issues. So I don't know how much he drops in the draft. You have a point regarding potential endorsements though. But maybe this case isn't so cut and dried. I'm not saying he's lying about it, but maybe there isn't a lot of physical type evidence for his side.

Quoted for truth.

IF this scares teams away, which I don't think it will, he wouldn't fall past Oakland, where they'll take anybody, or New England, the land of redemption.

 

[IrishinTN]

I wonder how many people have realized they're being "catfished" because of this story?


Glad I already have a wife.....No,honestly I do. I've seen her.

But has she seen you?

ba-dum dum. Thanks folks, I'll be here all week. No seriously, I will. I have a boring job.

 

[AFisch86]

Not sure exactly why I feel completely different today than yesterday but I just don't really give a **** about this situation anymore. I listened to a radio interview with teo's uncle this morning and was just like ok this guy that hoaxed teo is a complete a**. The world is full of them. The story seems to be dying anyway and it hasn't seemed to affect our recruits. So I'll leave my final thought on this thread. "Not interested."

 

[BobD]

Manti should be drafted by a team in California. There are tons of fake people here.

 

[chicago51]

I wonder how many people have realized they're being "catfished" because of this story?


Glad I already have a wife.....No,honestly I do. I've seen her.

Sure you do, I'm sure she's lovely.

No seriously you are right. I think this will do a good amount of good to raise awereness of people. Personally while I have always had a certain amount of paranoid distrust with the internet I had actually never heard of the term "catfished" until this incident.

 

[IrishinTN]

Sorry if this was posted. Too many posts too fast on this thread...more info on this tuiasosopo clown...

Report: Alleged mastermind of Manti Te'o death hoax auditioned for 'The Voice'

Read more: Report: Alleged mastermind of Manti Te'o death hoax auditioned for 'The Voice' | Fox News