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Manti Te'o Hoaxer Admits He Posed As Fake Girlfriend "Lennay Kekua" On Phone Calls
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 24, 2013
Modified Jan 24, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 24, 2013
Modified Jan 24, 2013
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As sports and "Catfish" fans await Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o, the alleged mastermind of the bizarre hoax has admitted that he posed as non-existent Stanford graduate Lennay Kekua while on the phone with Te'o.
Last week, Deadspin revealed that Kekua, the girlfriend of Notre Dame star linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist Te'o, never existed. Why does that matter? Because Te'o grandmother died around the same time, and sports journalists started to write articles praising Te'o courage after so much tragedy.
Here's a timeline from the South Bend Tribune: On September 13, "Tribune sports writer Eric Hansen receives news tips reporting that Teo's grandmother and girlfriend both had died. Hansen contacts Brian Te'o, who provides details about both deaths. Notre Dame's sports information department also confirms deaths and provides more details." Days later, Notre Dame's coach mentioned how Te'o lost people close to him and Te'o told ESPN, "I couldn't do without the support of my family and my girlfriend's family. I'm so grateful for all the love and support that all the fans, both Michigan State and Notre Dame, and fans around the world for supporting me and my family and my girlfriend's family. I miss them. I miss them. But I know that I'll see them again one day."
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo
It actually turned out that Lennay Kekua was created by Te'o acquaintance Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who apparently has a history of telling wild tales as well as vocal and dramatic training.
Tuiasosopo's lawyer, Milton Grimes, told the Daily News that his client was behind late-night phone calls with Te'o. Grimes said that the football player "thought it was a female he was talking with" but "It was Ronaiah as Lennay." Tuiasosopo had reportedly also targeted others to ensnare while posing as "Lennay Kekua" on Twitter, but Te'o bought the scam bigtime.
Te'o has apologized as well, but portrayed himself as a victim. He claimed he lied to his family because he was embarrassed, "I knew that -- I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet. And that alone, people find out that this girl who died I was so invested in, and I didn't meet her as well."
Tuiasosopo's lawyer Grimes added, "This wasn’t a prank to make fun. It was establishing a communication with someone. ... It was a person with a troubled existence trying to reach out and communicate and have a relationship.... “He’s torn by this. He didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt. Anything that he has done, he has apologized to those he could apologize to."
Tagged
catfish
college football
deadspin
katie couric
manti te'o
notre dame
ronaiah tuiasosopo
scam
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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