Manti Te'o: Hoax or Lier?

Once again we are faced with yet ANOTHER athlete falling from grace. Now, before I go on, Manti Te'o is innocent until proven otherwise, but the story and facts that have come out today are truly reprehensible!

An article at DEADSPIN.com   that Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, Lennay Kekua who was 22 years old and who supossidly had been in a serious car accident in California, was then diagnosed with leukemia while being treated at the hospital for her injuries, then who dies right before or just after Manti's grandmother who passed away in Hawaii, the Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax!

Now Manti Te'o did lose his grandmother this past fall. Her name was Annette Santiago and she died on Sept. 11, 2012, at the age of 72. BUT, as Deadspin has reported,"There is no SSA record there of the death of Lennay Marie Kekua, that day or any other. Photos of her online are NOT Kekua. There is no record of a car accident.

Supposedly she tweeted to him with the #Twitter A/c @lovalovaloveYOU A Google search reveals this profile:

which has since change! Remember folks, what you post on-line, STAYS ONLINE! There are some 92 posts by this account which she or someone has deleted from there twitter A/C. Manti Te'o #Twitter A/C @MTeo_5   is following some 146 people and she or this account is NOT one of them.

Another tweet from this accout is from March 9, 2012:

  She changed her account to @LennayKay 

 

Now it's changed to @LoveMSMK and the account has been deleted!

Has Manti Te'O been the victim of a elaborate Hoax? If so, what was the purpose of the Hoax? What did the people want from Manti?  When did Manti find out about it and why didn't he now or then contact the police?

Was Manti in on this elaborate scheme to drum up publicity, sort of a "RUDY" Ruettiger Notre Dame figure to help him in gaining popularity and attention thus getting more money from an NFL team? 

STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME:

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. 

STATEMENT FROM MANTI TE'O

"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." 

For me it's hard to believe ANY Athlete nowadays! As the story develops and the entire story is known will Manti Te'O just be another one of the many high profile figures that have fallen from grace and now beg us for a second chance to make even more money at our expense!!