Lance Armstrong is one of the happiest men on this earth.
The man who just admitted to using performance enhancing drugs to succeed as a
cyclist could not have picked a better time to take a seat with Oprah for a
chat about his past. Last afternoon the website Deadspin.com dropped a bomb on
not just the sporting world but the world in general. Manti Te’o, the All-American
linebacker from University of Notre Dame, was accused of being a part of a hoax
in which he created a fake girlfriend, by the name of Lennay Kekua.
Let us get
this straight first: Manti Te’o is a decent football player, but fantastic
would not be the proper adjective to use. He had a horrendous performance in
the National Championship Game against Alabama where he looked like a chicken
with its head cut off. Still, the man became a folk hero in this country. What
he lacked in physical ability he made up in “courage” especially after he
played in a game hours after his grandma and girlfriend died.
Lost in
this whole saga is that Te’o’s grandma did indeed die, unless that was made up
too. What is for certain is that the girlfriend was not real. She did not
exist. This is one hundred percent fact. The big question is if Manti Te’o holds
any responsibility.
I have
never had a serious girlfriend before in my life, so I do not know what exactly
goes on in a relationship. However, I have been the third wheel on numerous
dates. I understand somewhat about loving relationships, which is how Te’o
described his association with Kekua.
When Lennay
Kekua was “sick” with leukemia, Te’o did not go to see her. When Kekua was in a
car accident, Te’o was not there holding her hand in the hospital room. Yes a
long distance relationship is hard to do, but if someone I loved was struck
with a terrible disease or was on their death bed, I would drop everything to
be with them. Wouldn’t you?
Te’o
stated numerous times on Twitter how much he loved Lennay and how she was an
inspiration to him. He was in love with a girl that he has since admitted did
not exist. Now this would not have been that big of a deal if it the plot was
just that Manti got tricked in a sick ploy by someone on the internet. But that
is far from what actually happened.
Details
have been all over the internet on this drama. Everything from former Arizona
Cardinals fullback Reagan Mauia stating he actually knows the alleged girl to
allegations that another woman’s photo was used for the fake Twitter account.
If
there is a single take away from this story it is this: we live in a world that
someone will do anything to get attention.
The
sporting world especially is about image. Look at Nyjer Morgan with his T-Plush
alter ego. Countless athletes will try to win over the public by doing
something, some kind of tactic to stand out. Te’o allegedly used the fake girlfriend
route.
He went on countless national television shows
to talk about the “love of his life”. His image is what he used to garnish the
attention that put him in New York for the Heisman trophy ceremony.
Was he
a top linebacker in college football? Yes. Was he a top player regardless of
position? No. Manti Te’o became a household name due to a hoax. Te’o is like
that guy that walks around college campuses saying that he “hooked up with all
the hotties” leading him to be labeled
as a player, but has never even come in close proximity to a female on the
weekends.
Te’o
thrived off of a lie. It may not be a hundred percent clear if he was in on the
scam, but he profited off it. In a way he is just like Lance Armstrong. He made
a name for himself through an unethical method. And for that, he should be held
accountable.
Follow Nick Kapetan on Twitter @KapN93 and The Sports ReKap
@TheSportsReKap
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