Manti Te'o

The Sporting News looks back on the bizarre catfishing hoax that hooked the star Notre Dame linebacker.

The friend also claimed Tuiasosopo said Te'o was not involved with the hoax. 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. So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away, so that people wouldn't think that I was some crazy dude." Catfishing is often carried out with the intent of duping a specific victim. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. He wants to be with his teammates, he wants to be with the people that care about him. In either instance, the person creating the persona will use photos from a real person, often without their knowledge or consent, to deepen the illusion their fabrication is legitimate. Deadspin also interviewed sources who suggested the Notre Dame linebacker had to have some knowledge he was the victim of catfishing — a practice in which someone impersonates or creates an online persona. Te'o's story was bolstered not only by his play, but also by significant attention from local and national media: He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was also featured as part of a "College GameDay" episode, for example. In the postgame interview, Te'o spoke extensively about his family and how much they meant to him. But his support and his family at home have been great, and all of the coaches and players have been there for him.

The Lance Armstrong disgrace and a college football player Manti Te'o case were among the scandals in sports that rocked the American public and news ...

Te'o's transformation was brutal and swift, and he went from a pin-up poster boy to a global joke. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. His team finished the season undefeated, and he seemed like he would be the first-round pick of the 2013NFLdraft. In January 2013, his story became national, and his "girlfriend" Lennay Kekua wasn't real. His team finished the season undefeated, and he seemed like he would be the first-round pick of the 2013 Kekua claimed to be a

He was the golden boy in his Hawaii hometown, active in his faith and easy to get along with. Then, tragedy struck. His grandma died, then his girlfriend. Both ...

Yes, it is a sports story, a football story to a degree, but really it's a story about two individuals who were pretty young at the time -- I think they were 19-, 20-years-old when they were building this relationship -- and so to us they were really the only two people that knew what those conversations were, that knew what their relationship was like, that knew how each other felt about one another. I think it was just something that felt genuine and important in the way that they talked about it. When we first talked to Naya, the way she spoke about her journey of self-discovery and a journey of self-identity was an evolving process. But I do think in a way, none of our documentaries, even though they're sports documentaries, really have anything to do with who's going to win the championship game, who's going to hit the three-pointer as the clock winds down and win the game for their team. But at the time that we were filming this documentary, her journey was evolving to a degree. Was there anything that surprised you as you all were going about the research and reporting process? One thing that stood out to me is this is a story about Manti obviously, but you choose to lead with Naya, and you just said that you actually spoke to her first. I don't think they wanted that media coverage to be the period at the end of this really long sentence that was a story between these two individuals. And so I think for both of them the opportunity to really interview at length, at deep, about this story was appealing and attractive to them. I think there was a pile of documentary pitches sitting in his inbox over the course of the years. It's just always been a white whale in the sports documentary space; it's something that my brother and I remember very well, just kind of reading the news media on it and all the noise. It was probably a call that was only going to be 15, 20 minutes, and we ended up talking to her for two hours.

Manti Te'o is speaking out about the 2012 catfishing incident in order to heal from it, he told "CBS Mornings."

"I want to bring more light to my grandmother because it almost is like this story overshadows her," Te'o said. Following the story, Te'o received backlash online for critics who said he was in on the scheme. "You don't expect for somebody to say 'Hey, somebody's dead,' and three months later, 'Somebody's alive.' What do you do with that information?" Reporters at the sports outlet Deadspin in 2013 were unable to locate records of Kekua's death or for a car accident on the reported dates. Football player Manti Te'o, who learned in 2012 that his online girlfriend not only faked her own death but also was not the person she claimed, says that he's speaking out about the situation so he can to heal from it. During Te'o's senior year at Notre Dame in 2012, he reported the death of both his girlfriend Lennay Kekua and grandmother within hours of each other.