MANTI TE’O: Con or Conned?

Was Manti Te’o conned — or is he a con?

That is the question on everyone’s mind after the Notre Dame football standout revealed that he was in a relationship with a woman who never existed.

Normally, no one would care who he was dating.  But Manti’s relationship with the fictitious Lennay Kekua became national news after Manti nearly won the Heisman Trophy, then used the story of his “girlfriend” dying of cancer as his inspiration on the football field.

In an exclusive interview last week with Katie Couric, Manti said he was the victim of a hoax and not the perpetrator of one.  He explained that he met “Lennay” online and began a virtual relationship with her. He said he spoke with her several times by telephone and quickly fell in love.  He said he was devastated to learn that Lennay had cancer and was hospitalized and died — all without him ever meeting her.  He said he was stunned to learn that Lennay Kekua never really existed, that her photos were fake, that the actual woman in those pics is someone he doesn’t know named Diane O’Meara, and that the real person behind her online identity was family friend Ronaiah Tuiasosopo — a man!  Manti says he only discovered the truth after Ronaiah Tuiasosopo contacted him in December to admit that he really liked his conversations with Manti and wanted to reconnect.  Hmmm…

If this sounds suspect, then get in line with skeptics who aren’t buying one bit of it and are questioning the validity of Manti’s words.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

So let’s look at Manti’s story: just how possible is it for any human in their right mind to seriously fall in love with someone after a few lines of typed online convo, a few telephone conversations and a few pictures, but no in person meeting — ever?  In this day of high technology, Manti could have insisted on a Skype or FaceTime visual conversation, but he didn’t. He could have insisted on a live videotaped message from her using her cell phone, but he didn’t. He could have traveled to be with the supposed “love of his life” as she lay dying in a hospital bed, but he didn’t.  He dated this pretend woman for months, he never met her once, then she died. After making this “relationship” a national story, he now appears to be a national laughing stock and the punch line of a joke.

So what’s Manti’s angle here?  What exactly is truth and what exactly is fiction?  Some say Manti Te’o is gay and created this virtual girlfriend that no one would ever have to see so as to appease his deeply religious family and cover up his sexuality. Some say there is an actual underground world of virtual relationships, where the aloof youth of today can “date” by typing, texting and basically avoiding any real form of interaction or  interpersonal communication.  Others say he was simply “catfished,” a term used to define those who fall prey to a fake Facebook profile or other online identity, which was created in order to lure the unsuspecting into having romantic feelings.

So the question remains: is Manti Te’o so unbelievably stupid that he would date and supposedly fall in love with a pretend figment of his imagination?  Or is Manti Te’o one of the greatest con men of all time?