Real Tweets from Real (?) People - The Manti Te'o Hoax
Deadspin dropped one of the biggest bombs the sports world may have ever seen with the article by Tim Burke and Jack Dickey on Manti Te'o's girlfriend who passed away earlier this season being an elaborate hoax. We're way too early in this story to know what the reprecussions will be for Te'o or Notre Dame, but it has stunned the sports world in a way like few stories have. Already Notre Dame has come out and said Te'o is a victim in the scheme. I can't remember seeing my Twitter timeline filled with every single person talking about the same story like this before. The Heisman Trophy runner-up, one of the most popular and most well respected players in all of sports... having a relationship with an imaginary girlfriend? Then drawing inspiration from her staged death? It has to be real because nobody could conjure up fiction this unbelievable. So what does the sports world have to say about the most mysterious hoax its ever seen? As always these are Real (?) Tweets from Real (?) People...
Whoa. Manti Te'o of Notre Dame made up the tragic story about his GF dying? #Insane
— JALEN ROSE (@JalenRose) January 16, 2013
Just finished the Deadspin story on Manti Te'o. Stunned, bewildered, disheartened ... This is unreal.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) January 16, 2013
What if Manti Te'o didn't really exist this whole time?
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 16, 2013
Really glad Brent Musberger didn't talk excitedly over a picture of Manti Te'o's fake dead girlfriend during the national championship game
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) January 16, 2013
The scouting report on Manti Te'o- Strengths: leadership. Weaknesses: No-showed a national title game, lied about fake/dead girlfriend.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) January 16, 2013
It would have been so fitting if George O'Leary recruited Manti Te'o.
— Brett (@BLeez17) January 16, 2013
Karl Rove is reporting that Manti Te'o's girlfriend still might be real.
— Mike (@jerkstoremike) January 16, 2013
I don't see what's so weird about Manti Te'o creating a fake girlfriend and having her get in a car crash and publicly die of cancer.
— Glynner85 (@Glynner85) January 16, 2013
Also good luck to Manti Te'o, who's going to spend the rest of his career hated by journalists for making them look so bad
— Bobby Big Wheel (@BobbyBigWheel) January 16, 2013
All those pictures of Manti Te'o missing tackles are actually pictures of him hugging his girlfriend.
— Nick Yidiaris (@NYid07) January 16, 2013
Manti Te'o was smart though. Biggest problem about having a fake girlfriend is the breakup. It's always ugly. This was painless w/o crying.
— Matthew Roth (@MattRoth512) January 16, 2013
If Lance Armstrong isn't sending Manti Te'o a fruit basket right now he certainly should be
— Peter de la Flor (@_CousinPete) January 16, 2013
Taylor Swift is already writing a song about Manti Te'o and his fake girlfriend.
— Ryan (@Isley23) January 16, 2013
So many funniest tweets right now. The best ones? "I hope this isn't real!" Really? You hope a young woman died of cancer?
— Elika Sadeghi (@steakNstiffarms) January 16, 2013
Let all of you who haven't made up a lover be the ones to cast stones. Have you met my boyfriend, Mike? He's an astronaut.
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) January 16, 2013
I have to say, inventing a dead girlfriend is the boldest Heisman stunt ever. Makes a Times Square billboard seem quaint
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 16, 2013
. @oprah I'd like to introduce you to @mteo_5
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) January 16, 2013
The reason that this is such a big story, is because it is the 1st time that an athlete has pulled something like this!!!
I find it pathetic that people are spending so much time on this. So some athlete had a relationship with an imaginary girlfriend. Tell me again how this has any effect on your life??? The short answer - it has absolutely none. So get the f*** over it an move on with your own lives.
It will be really interesting to see how badly his draft status gets hit by this, especially after he whiffed so badly in the championship game. I'm guessing he drops out of the first round at the very least. He won't go to jail because he didn't break any laws, but this is likely going to cost him millions.
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This seems to be heading towards an ugly ending. T'eo told an ESPN reporter that the girl's family "wanted their privacy" when asked the week she "died". Sounds too convenient for me. If he was part of this "lie", his credibility is shot forever. My guess is that the facts are too trackable and the crap hits the fan, Manti T'eo will be exposed as one sick dude.
