Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend?

[tschu]

They've covered it a lot on TV. Not sure why it's not as prominent on their site. Probably because they don't have any great thing to add so they're waiting for someone to write something insightful before they show something as a featured story.

every other sports website is all over this. and, apparently, they have known about this for some time.

Yep. It's basically the giant headliner at almost every major sports news site except ESPN. They keep mentioning it on Sportscenter, but this is mainly due to the fact that TV is such immediate-interest-driven media that they have to talk about it or else the ratings would suffer and people would start reeeally questioning them.

 

But yes, they're mad and/or in damage control.

[JTrain]

Yeah, they probably just want to make some grand statement. Just having a basic report six hours after Deadspin is too embarrassing. They will conjure up some big Rick Reilly article talking about what this says about the internet culture and trust in our era or some other such nonsense.

[sd'sker]

They've covered it a lot on TV. Not sure why it's not as prominent on their site. Probably because they don't have any great thing to add so they're waiting for someone to write something insightful before they show something as a featured story.

every other sports website is all over this. and, apparently, they have known about this for some time.

Yep. It's basically the giant headliner at almost every major sports news site except ESPN. They keep mentioning it on Sportscenter, but this is mainly due to the fact that TV is such immediate-interest-driven media that they have to talk about it or else the ratings would suffer and people would start reeeally questioning them.

 

But yes, they're mad and/or in damage control.

also, it is late-night repeat mode.

[sd'sker]

Yeah, they probably just want to make some grand statement. Just having a basic report six hours after Deadspin is too embarrassing. They will conjure up some big Rick Reilly article talking about what this says about the internet culture and trust in our era or some other such nonsense.

they pretty much have to cover it that way to save face. make the story a side story and push the catfish/is this our society? angle.

[JTrain]

Yahoo Sports is unsure but leaning towards Swarbrick's story.

 

SI as well:

Swarbrick says Te'o didn't know. But then you wonder: What if Te'o lied to Swarbrick? What if Te'o made the whole thing up from the beginning?

Me, I think Te'o got duped. I think he did what a lot of young men do: He lied a little bit about his woman. In this case, he let people believe he'd met her in person, when in fact, he had just met her online. He didn't realize his lies would get caught in a web of much bigger lies, and that he would spend a day in January, after the season of his life, as a national punchline.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130116/teo-column/#ixzz2IDfqzn00

[/left]

[JTrain]

Obvious red flags being completely ignored by the official story:

 

Flowers were supposedly sent to a funeral home. It also seems likely that the coaches would want to send condolences. Who got the number of the funeral home, since the funeral did not in fact exist?

 

Te'o says Lennay's brother broke the news to him. What was playing the part?

 

Who was Te'o talking to on the phone every night?

 

Still, there remains holes in every theory I've seen discussed.

[Notre Dame Joe]

Espn has made up their mind that the nfl is always first after Jan8.

 

Although the gay conspiracy theory makes a great story, I'm getting quite sure that Teo was duped by experienced frauds. I heard the fake online girlfriend scam and it was a similar pattern. actually there was a bunch of Lifetime network movies on it, or so I've heard.

[zoogs]

I can see why the gay theory is funny, I hope people aren't being serious with that, though. That seems extremely far-fetched; but then, what part of this isn't?

 

This is what I find to be most confusing:

This week, we got in touch with a woman living in Torrance, Calif. We'll call her Reba, to protect her identity. She was initially confused, then horrified to find that she had become the face of a dead woman. "That picture," she told us over the phone, "is a picture of me from my Facebook account."

 

Weren't "Reba" 's photos plastered all over the media for much of the college football season? Does this woman have no friends or even acquaintances, or even anyone who knows her by name and face - who follow college sports? Were these very elaborate, very calculated hoaxsters planning on that?

 

I mean, how do you plan on that. I can't think of a single person about whom I could say, "Sure, put his/her photo on TV and pretend it's somebody else. Nobody is going to notice."

[JTrain]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/21564507/most-unbelievable-part-of-teo-saga-swarbricks-trust-in-him

[JTrain]

I can see why the gay theory is funny, I hope people aren't being serious with that, though. That seems extremely far-fetched; but then, what part of this isn't?

 

This is what I find to be most confusing:

This week, we got in touch with a woman living in Torrance, Calif. We'll call her Reba, to protect her identity. She was initially confused, then horrified to find that she had become the face of a dead woman. "That picture," she told us over the phone, "is a picture of me from my Facebook account."

 

Weren't "Reba" 's photos plastered all over the media for much of the college football season? Does this woman have no friends or even acquaintances, or even anyone who knows her by name and face - who follow college sports? Were these very elaborate, very calculated hoaxsters planning on that?

 

I mean, how do you plan on that. I can't think of a single person about whom I could say, "Sure, put his/her photo on TV and pretend it's somebody else. Nobody is going to notice."

 

Actually I think the gay theory makes more sense than the others. Still holes, but not as many as the others.

 

As for the second point, I thought the same thing. This girl is pretty hot and surely has 20 likes on all these pictures. My only explanation is that it wasn't really plastered everyone. It was on maybe a handful of reports. The biggest report was right before the title game on CBS, but people were already catching on by then.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

lmao!

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/08615ea309473e48accd15559c32f1e6/tumblr_mgr3l4nUDW1s3b9u6o1_1280.jpg

[Notre Dame Joe]

If a man is using a 'beard' to hide his gayness, he wouldn't kill her off when he could just say they split up.

 

The same problem with the skeptics who believe Manti was running a hoax. Why would he make it so easy to verify, with a first and last name and a Stanford pedigree?

 

As good as the deadspin author was, he really was biased in favor of Manti masterminding a great fraud. The lengthy sanctimonious introduction was a giveaway.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

If a man is using a 'beard' to hide his gayness, he wouldn't kill her off when he could just say they split up.

 

The same problem with the skeptics who believe Manti was running a hoax. Why would he make it so easy to verify, with a first and last name and a Stanford pedigree?

 

As good as the deadspin author was, he really was biased in favor of Manti masterminding a great fraud. The lengthy sanctimonious introduction was a giveaway.

Are we in denial that the Prophet Te'o was running a hoax?

[Chaddyboxer]

My SWAG:

 

1. He's gay, got into a relationship with some dude (probably that Tuisasablablah guy).

2. Parents want to know who he's talking to every night/why his texting count tripled last month, etc.

3. He makes up this girl with the assistance of his bf/friends etc to fool his religious parents/keep up appearances.

4. Years pass, things get serious, parents start to ask when they get to meet the girl.

5. Time for girl to die suddenly.

 

If so, he has my sympathy.

I'll go with your analysis sir. Honestly, it seems like you hit the nail on the head with this story.

[Chaddyboxer]

 

I am working on finding out more about this @mteo_5 #Catfish story. I have been in contact with the woman involved and will get the truth.

 

— Nev Schulman (@NevSchulman) January 17, 2013

My take:

They find a girl to "pay off" or take the fall so to speak....Easy peezy. Te'o is the victim and the University sweeps this one under the rug. Yes....I know my take wreaks of a conspiracy brewing....but just watch. They'll "find" the girl that was "playing" Manti Te'o. We'll see how this one unfolds...

 

Yeah, it's a huge STRETCH....HUGE. But hey....this story is already nutter friggin butters....might as well come up with something crazy to counter it....try to save face.