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Manti Te'o Talks With Katie Couric - What Did He Have To Say For Himself?

Ashley Riegle |
January 24, 2013 | 11:09 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

The much-anticipated exclusive interview between Katie Couric and Notre Dame football player, Manti Te'o aired on talk show "Katie" Thursday. This is the first public interview for Te'o since Deadspin exposed Te'o's relationship with his girlfriend Lennay Kekua (who he had spoken of many times publicly) as a hoax. Te'o appeared on the talk show first alone, and later with his parents Brian and Ottilia Te'o by his side to discuss and attempt to clarify his involvement.

Background on Te'o's Story

Beloved Notre Dame defender Manti Te'o has been accused by numerous parties that the story about his girlfriend Kekua was intentionally inflated by him over time. For example, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Te'o stated that he first met Kekua through his cousin at a USC game. He also lied to his father about meeting up with her in Hawaii, an untruth his dad later repeated to journalists. Both statements by Te'o have proven to be false.

Manti Te'o in an exclusive interview with Katie Couric (ABC)
Manti Te'o in an exclusive interview with Katie Couric (ABC)

In fact, Te'o never met Kekua in person nor even video chatted with her. Their every correspondence was carried out over text and phone calls. Te'o now admits that he never met Kekua in person, and claims that every time he attempted to meet her, she made an excuse. However, the inconsistencies in the stories he presented publically for a period of several months have caused journalists and fans to suggest that Te'o may in fact have been involved in creating the fake Kekua persona. Te'o denies having any involvement in the scam. 

The story goes that Te'o met Kekua through Twitter. He connected with her Hawaiian and Samoan lineage and strong faith. They would spend hours on the phone with one another, often falling asleep on the phone together. Te'o would speak about Kekua in media interviews, including making her near-death car accident and later bought with Leukemia (both hoaxes) public knowledge. Te'o said he learned that she suddenly died in September. On the day Te'o's grandmother died, a person who claimed to be Kekua's brother called to tell Te'o that Kekua had died. According to Te'o the male caller was screaming and crying. On December 6, Te'o says he received a call from a woman claiming to be Kekua saying that she was in fact alive. He claims he was extremely angry and said that "the Lennay Kekua he knew had died in September". Kekua later sent Te'o a photograph of herself on December 21, 2012 to prove to him that she was alive. On December 26, Te'o approached Notre Dame to tell them he had been part of a hoax.

Interview with Couric

Couric opened the interview by speaking one-on-one with Te'o, asking him to recount much of the information and timeline detailed above. Te'o appeared naive speaking about the girlfriend he never met in person, reiterating many times that he did not second guess what he was told by Kekua as much as he should have.

Couric pushed Te'o to provide details (ABC)
Couric pushed Te'o to provide details (ABC)

Voicemails from "Lennay" Kekua were played during the show. In one, a tearful young woman's voice accused Manti of having another girl in his room. In another she called to say goodnight, saying how much she loved him. The voice in the messages (which can be heard here) definitely sounds like a woman. In a web exclusive video on Katiecouric.com, Te'o said he believes now that the hoax was carried out by Ronaiah Tuiasosopo and two of his cousins, one male and one female. That part of the interview did not make it onto the broadcast.

When asked by Couric about Tuiasosopo, Te'o said he knew the young man as Kekua's cousin and communicated with him ocassionally when he couldn't reach Kekua. Te'o said Tuiasosopo sent him a direct message (on Lennay Kekua's twitter handle) on January 16, 2013 admitting that he was behind the Kekua illusion and responsible for all correspondence sent to him. Te'o said that Tuiasosopo later called him to explain more in detail about his intentions. When pushed by Couric to share what Tuiasosopo said was his motivation for the hoax, Te'o replied "he didn't say why, he just explained that he wanted to help people…being somebody that he wasn't and connect with them on a different level, that was his way to try to help them out." Te'o told Couric that he was too speechless to say much in response. 

Teo's parents cried as Te'o said his greatest regret was hurting his family. His father spoke out to express his support for Te'o and assert that the entire family had been fooled by "Lennay". Te'o's mother echoed that sentiment saying she had spoken with "Lennay" on the phone and fully believed her story to be real as well. 

Te'o maintains he had nothing to do with creating the persona of Kekua (ABC)
Te'o maintains he had nothing to do with creating the persona of Kekua (ABC)

Couric did a solid job interviewing Te'o particularly given that he was not overly forthcoming, detailed or revealing in his responses. His answers were slow and often vague.

Couric repeated herself when Te'o did not efficiently answer a question and often interjected to force him to explain things more clearly. Inquiring about the press conference in which Te'o said that his girlfriend had died from cancer, when he had been told two days earlier that she was in fact alive, Couric said, "That's a lie. Why would you say that?" "I didn't know," replied Te'o. "Come on… You stuck to the script. And you knew something was amiss, Manti," pushed Couric. "Correct," Te'o said. 

Te'o claims that the unclear circumstance of whether or not Kekua was alive in the face of press coverage was too much for him to know how to deal with. Te'o did not offer a clear answer to Couric for his lack of honesty. He claimed he was scared and didn't know who to turn to or what to do.

Responding to rumors that Te'o maintained the image of being in a relationship to hide the fact that he is a homosexual, Couric asked him point blank about his sexuality. "Are you gay?," Couric asked. To this Te'o replied, "No, far from it. Faaaarrr from it".

The interview was interesting, but left many unanswered questions. For example, when Te'o spoke with Tuiasosopo, who did he learn was the voice on the phone? Why was that not discussed on the show? If the young woman whose photos were stolen and presented as those of Kekua, how was the photograph of her holding the December 21, 2012 sign taken with the girl's image? Was it photoshopped? Tell us more, Couric and Te'o!

In web exclusive video on KatieCouric.com, Te'o spoke about whether his relationship with Kekua was ever sexual, saying "At first, no.." then "no not really", but that they did talk about the future and marriage and that he "was drawn to her only for her spiritual side and love of family". Huh? The web exclusive videos are interesting- they add even more strangeness to the story, including that Te'o took Tuiasosopo to a USC football game in November (after Kekua had "died"). To watch the web exclusive videos, click here.

This is a complex and strange saga that did not become much more transparent today. Overall, Couric was both personable and tough with the questions, a welcome combination for a difficult and strange story. While intriguing to watch Te'o in an interview setting, there is much more that needs to be uncovered about this bizarre tale for it to be put to rest.

Watch the interview in full here.

Reach staff reporter Ashley Riegle here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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