Count 'Bility
Banned
Well damnit. "The Days of our lives" has just broke out in college football. Cant have nuttin nice.
Maybe they read your post: ESPN.comAlso, how is this not a feature (picture) story on ESPN.com's front page?
I must be one of the few people that has not jumped to conclusions on this.
LINKHere's what Te'o told me that day about his relationship with Kekua, and comments from others for the story:
TE'O: On April 28 [my girlfriend] got in a bad accident and was hit by a drunk driver. Ever since April 28 she's been in the hospital. She recovered from the accident but we were always wondering why some days she would be doing well and the next day she would be down in the dumps and complaining about pain in her back. It was then that we found out she had leukemia.
SI: Sorry to cut you off, just trying to get the timetable right.
TE'O: It was the beginning of July. She and I, man, we had this relationship where it was just amazing. With all that time on her hands in the hospital, she was never thinking about herself and what was hurting here. She was always thinking about others. She went on anD wrote a letter to me before every game. Things that she would want me to know. So yeah.
SI: Did she send them to you?
TE'O: She had them all on her iPad and her family found [them]. Her family, what they would do is they would read it to me. And then they'll send it to me in a picture.
SI: You called them one day leading into each game?
TE'O:Yeah, I'll call and check up on them and see how they're doing, see how things are going. Just like I check in my family at home.
SI: What day this week did they read you the letter?
TE'O: Friday. I checked in on Friday.
SI: How did you meet her?
TE'O: We met just, ummmm, just she knew my cousin. And kind of saw me there so. Just kind of regular.
SI: How long were you dating? I know that can be a complicated question.
TE'O:Oct. 15 was the official date. Of last year. I've known her for four years. So we've been friends.
SI: So you dated for about a year.
TE'O:Yeah.
Catfished? He's talking about meeting her, man. That's not ambiguous, he's describing when they met.Indeed. Great reference.
My issue is that it's not really possible to look at this from the outside and say, "Look at how he behaved. Nobody is that stupid. Look at his lies, he must be in on it." If he really did get catfished, nobody here knows how they would react in that situation (assuming he was catfished) when you combine it with his fame, pressure, and feeling like a huge role model.
Those making assumptions like that are revealing more about themselves than what they feel about Te'o.
Here's Pete Thamel's full disclosure article on his reporting of Te'o and "his girlfriend." As fascinating to read as the Deadspin article yesterday.
LINKHere's what Te'o told me that day about his relationship with Kekua, and comments from others for the story:
TE'O: On April 28 [my girlfriend] got in a bad accident and was hit by a drunk driver. Ever since April 28 she's been in the hospital. She recovered from the accident but we were always wondering why some days she would be doing well and the next day she would be down in the dumps and complaining about pain in her back. It was then that we found out she had leukemia.
SI: Sorry to cut you off, just trying to get the timetable right.
TE'O: It was the beginning of July. She and I, man, we had this relationship where it was just amazing. With all that time on her hands in the hospital, she was never thinking about herself and what was hurting here. She was always thinking about others. She went on anD wrote a letter to me before every game. Things that she would want me to know. So yeah.
SI: Did she send them to you?
TE'O: She had them all on her iPad and her family found [them]. Her family, what they would do is they would read it to me. And then they'll send it to me in a picture.
SI: You called them one day leading into each game?
TE'O:Yeah, I'll call and check up on them and see how they're doing, see how things are going. Just like I check in my family at home.
SI: What day this week did they read you the letter?
TE'O: Friday. I checked in on Friday.
SI: How did you meet her?
TE'O: We met just, ummmm, just she knew my cousin. And kind of saw me there so. Just kind of regular.
SI: How long were you dating? I know that can be a complicated question.
TE'O:Oct. 15 was the official date. Of last year. I've known her for four years. So we've been friends.
SI: So you dated for about a year.
TE'O:Yeah.
If this is accurate, and I presume he recorded this, which is why he has a transcript, there is ZERO chance that Te'o wasn't in on this. He describes meeting her, and he's intentionally vague about it.