Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o says he wasn't involved in hoax

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o #5 stretches prior to playing against Alabama in the BCS National Championship in Miami on January 7, 2013. UPI/Marc Serota

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o #5 stretches prior to playing against Alabama in the BCS National Championship in Miami on January 7, 2013. UPI/Marc Serota 

License photo

Published: Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:56 PM

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o told U.S. interviewer Katie Couric he had no involvement in the hoax in which his online girlfriend turned out to be a fraud.

Te'o, 21, gave an exclusive interview to ABC's Couric about the story that surfaced last month, saying he had been tricked into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had died of cancer in September.

Asked in the interview, which aired Thursday on "Katie," if he had "any involvement in creating the scam," Te'o replied, "No, I did not."

"I think what people don't realize is the same day everybody else found out about this situation, I found out," he said. "I got the call on Dec. 6, saying that she was alive and from Dec. 6 to Jan. 16, my whole reality was that she was dead. Now all of a sudden she was alive. At that time, I didn't know it was just somebody's prank."

Te'o also admitted he lied to the media about how he met Kekua, adding, "For people feeling that they were misled, that I'm sorry for."

"I wasn't as forthcoming about it, but I didn't lie. I never was asked did I meet her in person. Through the embarrassment and the fear of what people would think about me being committed to this person I didn't have a chance to meet and she all of a sudden died, that scared me. And to avoid any further conversation, I wasn't as forthcoming as I should have been," he said.

Pressed to comment on how the story had made him a sympathetic figure, Te'o said: "The only thing I basked in is that now I had an impact on people. That people turned to me for inspiration. I think that was the only thing I focused on. My story I felt was a guy in times of hardship and times of trial really held strong to his faith ... and family. I thought that was my story."

Even if that hardship was exaggerated? Couric wanted to know.

"What I went through was real," Te'o said. "The feelings, the pain, the sorrow -- that was all real. That was something I can't fake."

Read More @ Source

Preparing For Peak Oil - Part 2 of 4

Website: MrEnergyCzar.com One family prepares for peak oil by converting their home to a net-zero solar powered home, becoming more self-sufficient and making energy efficiency improvements. Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter: Twitter.com Video 2012 2013 World oil supply crisis may cause global inflation, unemployment, and depletion of other energy sources. Peakoil documentary save money cut cable bill haircut aquarain water kill-a-watt TED The Energy Detective grieving peak oil solar pv array inverter family survival world oil supply depletion high demand alternative fuels global warming crisis understanding howto explaining petroleum future apocalypse end crash energy inflation gas gasoline prices unemployment fuel finance simmons heinberg martenson martensen kunstler powerdown supplies gardening organic garden sustainable permaculture living crops tips ideas tools home house

Video Rating: 4 / 5



Fraudulent Stories Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Woman pictured in Te'o hoax talks about perpetrator

Image
Two of the people linked to an expansive hoax involving Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o attended the same Antelope Valley high school, according to the Southern California woman whose photos were used in the ruse. Diane O'Meara, who now works in marketing at STN Media Group in Torrance, spoke to NBC's "Today"  about the incident in a segment that aired Tuesday. In the segment, she said she met the supposed hoaxer, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, in high school but added that the two were not friends. Paraclete High football coach Norm Dahlia confirmed to The Times that Tuiasosopo played quarterback for the Lancaster school in 2007. A Deadspin.com report published last week first revealed the hoax but did not name O'Meara. The report claims that Tuiasosopo used photos of a girl he met at Paraclete High School in Lancaster as part of a Twitter account for a "Lennay Kekua," a fake woman whom he connected with Te'o. "My name is not Lennay Kek...
Keep reading

Iran Denies Space Monkey Phony

Image
After Iran announced last week that it had launched a monkey into space, web sleuths compared before and after photos of the furry astronaut and cried hoax. They claimed the monkey that made public appearances after the space flight in a bespoke suit looked nothing like the animal that had been shot into space, which seemed to have lighter fur and a mole above its eye. Did a monkey die in flight, asked the conspiracy theorists? Or did no primate ever leave the ground? Now the Iranian space agency has stepped forward to clear up any confusion. According to space official Mohammad Ebrahimi, it's true that the pictures don't match, and that they show two different monkeys. But Ebrahimi said that's not because of a hoax – it's because the pre-flight photo of a light-furred monkey was actually an archival photo and not a picture of the actual animal, Pishgam, who rode the rocket. According to the Iranians, Pishgam took a 20-minute flight and returned to earth s...
Keep reading

College Place Police Call Walmart Bomb Threat a Phony

Image
COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. - College Place Police are investigating an apparent bomb threat hoax at Walmart over the weekend.   Saturday night, police say the College Place Walmart called 911, reporting a bomb threat the store received, set to go off at 6:19 on Sunday morning. Officers and the College Place Fire Department arrived on scene and evacuated the store just before 1 AM that night. Officers and firefighters stayed there overnight blocking the doors, and didn't allow customers or employees back in until 7 AM.   Police say 6:19 came and went, but nothing exploded, no one got hurt, and they couldn't find any sort of explosive device, leading officers to believe the incident was an apparent hoax. Police say they don't know who made the threat, and while they're looking into leads, they don't have any potential suspects yet. Walmart returned to business as usual after 7 am on Sunday. Read More @ Source Sonic CD 510 (Earlies...
Keep reading