Make Sense of This

[Nick]

In case you haven't heard, there is quite the sports story breaking tonight involving this man:



(Manti Te'o, linebacker and captain for Notre Dame, Heisman runner-up, projected Top-10 draft pick)

On Sept. 12th, Te'o learned that his grandmother died (actually true) and then 6 hours later his alleged girlfriend either lost her battle with leukemia or died in a car accident (stories conflict). The media made a big deal about the tragedy that he experienced, etc., etc., then three days later ND beat Michigan State at home and the place went wild.

For the remainder of the season, Te'o was constantly interviewed about what happened that week, and sports media constantly brought up the "hardships and adversity" that he faced. It seemed as though it was the perfect part of the Cinderella season that Notre Dame football experienced.

That all came crashing down today. A report came out that claims that Te'o's alleged girlfriend never existed. There are no records of a girl that went by her name; no birth certificates, no death certificates, no proof she was enrolled at school, etc. All that existed were her Twitter and Instagram accounts. The report concluded by saying that Te'o willingly participated in this hoax for the PR boost that it brought him, which played a role in his Heisman candidacy.

Following that story's release, the University released the following:

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.

Manti Te'o released his own 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."

What do you make of all this? Was he complicit? Was he duped? What say you?

[CSaddict]

Who gives a fuck.

[Zullock Holmes]

"I'm so sad the girlfriend i didn't even know i had died".....

How could he not know?? Just another strong case for the vibrant and deep moral fiber that exsists in the colored youth of this country.

[hoggie101]

"I'm so sad the girlfriend i didn't even know i had died".....

How could he not know?? Just another strong case for the vibrant and deep moral fiber that exsists in the hispanic youth of this country.

fixed

[crosbike]

What does race have to do with this?

[Buffalo Phil]

What does race have to do with this?

Seriously, this is an open race board.

[hoggie101]

What does race have to do with this?

all the minorities always play the race card

black its because i am of the colored type
in e u bonics from its because i r an nigger aint it

Hispanic hey officer of the law it wasn't me
a yo man it wasnt me (in broken english)

white dam-it i got caught
fucking shit i got caught

[Buffalo Phil]

What the fuck did you just say?

[Zullock Holmes]

race has everything to do with it.

Them damn colored folk is always up to lyin, cheatin, and overall bein no good.

[TSISam]

all the minorities always play the race card

black its because i am of the colored type
in e u bonics from its because i r an nigger aint it

Hispanic hey officer of the law it wasn't me
a yo man it wasnt me (in broken english)

white dam-it i got caught
fucking shit i got caught

speaking of broken english, fix yours.

[hoggie101]

speaking of broken english, fix yours.

No it takes too long, if i type and spell every thing correctly

[Lawn Guyland]

i have no idea wtf is going on in this thread

[Nick]

Manti Te'o with tribal tattoos, clearly black or Hispanic

[Buffalo Phil]

Manti Te'o with tribal tattoos, clearly black or Hispanic

Those damn Hawaiians just ruin everything.

[Nick]

all the minorities always play the race card

black its because i am of the colored type
in e u bonics from its because i r an nigger aint it

Hispanic hey officer of the law it wasn't me
a yo man it wasnt me (in broken english)

white dam-it i got caught
fucking shit i got caught

I'll play the race card too:

"Sorry officer, I misinterpreted the rules" - classic white person defense