Thursday, January 24, 2013

Te'o Talks to Katie Couric


People have a reason to lie.  Here, does Te'o give his reason for deception? Lennay was, after all, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.  


Te'o tells Couric 'pain' and 'sorrow' was real

AP
Notre Dame golden boy Manti Te’o appeared in an emotionally-driven interview with Katie Couric today, telling her that the feelings he had for what turned out to be a fake, online girlfriend were real and reiterated he had nothing to do with the hoax.
The All-American linebacker said he was truly sorrowful and pained.
He said he sustained tall tales about his fake, dead girlfriend to keep inspiring legions Irish football fans who saw him as the ultimate triumph-over-tragedy figure.
Te’o told Katie Couric that the story of gal pal “Lennay Kekua,” who allegedly died of cancer on Sept. 12 during the Irish football season, had taken a life of its own -- so he ran with it.
I think for me the only thing I basked in was that I had an impact on people,” he said in an interview aired today.
1.  "I think" is a weak commitment
2.  "for me" indicates he knows that there were other things "basked in", perhaps by others.
3.  "I had an impact on people" may be attempt to justify or explain the hoax.  
That people turned to me and for inspiration and I think that was the only thing I focused on.
Here he says that the inspiration is the "only thing" he focused upon; not that Lennay was not real, or a guy.  This is how people get caught, no matter how they try to cover lies. 
He added: “You know my story I felt was a guy who in times of hardship and in times of trial really held strong to his faith, held strong to his family and I felt that that was my story.
His "story" belongs to him; it is sensitive (as seen in repetition). 
Te’o led his Notre Dame football team to an undefeated regular season. His real grandmother died on Sept. 11 and Te’o said he was told Lennay died the next day.
The standout linebacker kept playing and the Irish kept winning, turning his story of double-tragedy into an inspirational narrative.
Te’o claimed he had long phone calls with Lennay and even played Couric recordings of voice mails the fake gal pal left him.
An acquaintance of his, Christian musician Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, was allegedly the mastermind of the lie.
Te’o said Tuiasosopo called to apologize last week and offered a weird explanation for the hoax.
He just explained that he wanted to help people and that was his way of helping people, of being someone that he wasn’t, and trying to connect with somebody on a different level to help them out,” Te’o said.
Obviously, it didn’t really help me out but uh, you know, I didn’t really say anything. I was still speechless. I just found out that everything that I believed to be my reality wasn’t actually reality at all.”
The phony gal pal called Te’o from the virtual grave on Dec. 6, revealing the huge hoax.
But in interviews after that day, Te’o kept the lie rolling.
What would you do?” asked the 21-year-old Heisman Trophy runner-up. “I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died.
Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she’s alive, and then I’m going be put on national TV two days later” for the Heisman ceremony.
Note the present tense language
Te’o said he couldn’t just admit that “Lennay” was a scam made up by Tuiasosopo.
Te’o knew he would be asked about Lennay at the Heisman ceremony.
You stuck to the script,” Couric said. “And you knew something was amiss, Manti.”
This is a challenge to admit that he knew, but Te'o avoids the accusation: 
“Katie, put yourself in my situation,” he responded.
Te’o said that, until the December phone call, the inspirational story of how he played through the deaths of both his beloved grandmother and Lennay to lead Notre Dame to the national football championship game was legit.
What I went through was real,” he said. “You know, the feelings, the pain, the sorrow — that was all real and that’s something that I can’t fake.”
Note the word "that" uses distancing language of a past tense event, but "I can't fake" is not "I didn't fake"; and is present tense.  Follow the verb tenses. 
When Couric asked if the sob story helped him land more votes in the Heisman race, Te’o said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.
His parents, Ottilia and Brian, insisted their son didn’t manipulate the public for his own gain.
People can speculate about what they think he is,” a teary-eyed Brian Te’o told Couric.
I’ve known him 21 years of his life. And he’s not a liar. He’s a kid.”
"He's a kid" may be taken as a way to dismiss his actions. "He's not a liar" his father said, even though he admitted lying to his father about Lennay. 
ESPN reported yesterday that a source has provided it with documents containing Te’o’s phone logs showing that 1,000 calls were made — from May 11 to Sept. 12 of last year — to and from a person with an 661 area code believed to be “Kekua.” Of those calls, 110 lasted longer than an hour.
Meanwhile, hoaxmaster Tuiasosopo is under constant watch by family members, who fear he may be suicidal.
I’m scared he’s going to go into a deep depression or hurt himself,” a relative told The Post yesterday. “We’re making sure a family member, especially his dad or his mom, always are keeping eyes on him.”
Tuiasosopo’s insisted that there was a reason for the twisted trick.
“There’s a whole other side to it that nobody knows about,” said the relative. “We’re trying to keep it where everybody is guessing. We don’t want everybody to know what’s going on.”


19 comments:

Tania Cadogan said...

Tuiasosopo’s insisted that there was a reason for the twisted trick.
“There’s a whole other side to it that nobody knows about,” said the relative. “We’re trying to keep it where everybody is guessing. We don’t want everybody to know what’s going on.”


Who is WE

Why is it essential that everybody doesn't know what's going on?
guilty knowledge or fear of consequences?

Unknown said...

He was in on the entire hoax from conception.
He said the emotions inspired by experence were real.
Those emotions were not fake.
Not fake emotions opposed to the set up wich was fake.

Fake set up;;;; Triggers real emotions.

Unknown said...

The question was where the events that inspired the emotions real.
Not whether the emotions where real.
One can have genuine feelings to an insident even if its a hoax.
Only if one is unaware of the hoax.

His use of the emotions being real is given as a need to convice the audience.
Because neither his emotions nor the incident fake deathreal.
Its a slap in the face to all genuine gref striken people mourning the loss of a loved one.

Unknown said...

Hobnob
We is the two of them whom conspired to tell this lie.
Teo an Tuaisupopos .

ME said...

"we loved her"suggests he is in a "group"like YOU tardians.a pack of evil cyclist HATERS!!!! rule brittania!!!

BostonLady said...

Tuiasosopo’s insisted that there was a reason for the twisted trick.
“There’s a whole other side to it that nobody knows about,” said the relative. “We’re trying to keep it where everybody is guessing. We don’t want everybody to know what’s going on.”


They are trying to keep it where everybody is guessing??? There's a whole other side to it that nobody knows about?

What is this family telling everyone? Gay?

Lemon said...

Ding ding ding...

The "we" is key. Follow the money. I believe the reason to keep everyone guessing is so as to avoid more negative publicity and not hinder Te'o's chances in the draft.

Its all about the Benjamins.

veruca said...

OFF TOPIC>>>Kyron news

http://www.kptv.com/story/20200850/deputies-confirm-new-developments-in-kyron-horman-case

Let's hope it's something...

R.L Haley said...

Yes I have to go with Lemon on this,even after seeing his dad cry on T.V. I had to remind myself this is his son, who could make lots of money,Does the father want us to believe his 21 year olds really Duh and trusting,and he knows the dude behind it?.If Im wrong then I will and should feel bad.

rob said...

A superstar football player and a christian singer. No, they want to keep it a secret, because their relationship may hurt both of their careers. He was talking to someone for hours, and I can't believe this guy could talk sounding like a girl for that amount of time. I also think the family knows what the secret is, and is in agreement that the knowledge of it may hurt their careers.
At this point, just come clean and move on.
I'll give it to Katie, she tried her best to get him to confess.

Unknown said...

Rob some women sound like men listening to voice audio.
And vice versa some men sound efeminate.
Never answered the phone an mistaken the gender of the caller?
I have on more than onc occasion.
Haveing said that I do beleive both conspired to perpertrate this hoax.......

Jen said...

Hi BostonLady,

I've been following this closely and after reading that quote from the family of the Tuaisosopo my opinion is cemented that these guys were involved in a homosexual relationship. I don't think this 'hoax' was started with the intention of it going national (where it was easily picked apart) but instead was a lie meant to explain who Teo was talking to for hours at a time, and to hide the nature of their relationship. Eventually Teo flashes a picture of a beautiful girl around to his teammates and he's off the hook for socializing with them and other girls, and his devotion and hours spent on the phone with a girl who NEVER visits is explained by the fact that she is very sick, in fact dying of leukemia. When Teo's grandmother passes away it's zero hour...he will now be expected to visit home for the services and possibly even produce this serious girlfriend to meet his parents, at the very least things are about to get very complicated...so, she 'dies' too. Now his dead girlfriend's 'cousin' Tuaisospo (his lover and the person he's been talking to all along) is Teo's only link to the love of his life and understandably they will stay in touch and visit each other, so the story remains a perfect cover for their relationship.

Then it happens, the lie spirals out of control and goes far beyond Teo's family and friends, becoming a national storyline. He's now in the running for the Theismann and his triumph over double tragedy has catapulted him to the frontrunner for the trophy. Now he's trapped, his lies are caving in on him and 'they' (he and his companion) know what's at stake. They continue the hoax through the Theismann run and then in the off season they will quietly expose the 'story' (his words) as a betrayal against Teo. If Teo actually had been the one to expose the story, he may have gained credibility..but coming clean AFTER being exposed, and admitting that he knew he was lying when he commented at the Theismann ceremony has erased any sympathy I may have felt for him. Whatever the original reason for the lie, he arrogantly stood in front of the cameras and played on the sympathy of others to gain an advantage so if he could do it then, he can do it anytime...even on the Katie show.

Tania Cadogan said...

I think he is gay and worried about his reputation and how it will affect his religious beliefs.

Being gay these days is no big deal and if you are a god botherer then you believe god created you therefore he made you to be gay or whatever sexualu orientation you happen to be.

To claim you chose to be anything but straight is wrong, no one in their right mind would chose a lifestyle that in many countries leads to torture and death.

People are who they are, if you are christian then you must love your neighbor whatever their orientation since it is in the bible (otherwise if you deny it then we get into a fun discussion on contradictions)

he needs to be honest with himself before he can be honest with others, until then he will be miserable and part of a carcrash media storm.
Once he admits the truth the public and media will go yeah we knew and move on to the next story.

(i so wish Cliff Richard would admit the truth, it's not like nobody knows these days especially given he lives with a man)

Lis said...

Another funny thing about this story is that a popular, well-known football player would be likely to be in an on-line relationship with a girlfriend he has never seen. I'm picturing "Kip" in Napolean Dynamite, "chatting online with babes for hours." Hah. In Kip's case, it made sense; not very likely for Te'o.

Jen said...

Hi Hobnob-

Like you, I think the media storm would go away if he would just come out and admit the truth, whatever it may be. If hes gay, if he just wanted to become part of football folklore or whatever the case may be. It's his continuation of the hoax, (claiming to be a naive 'mark', who was victimized by his trusting nature...gag) that's doing him no favors, and like I said in my post above...he acknowledges lying and continuing to portray himself as grieving his fake girlfriend AFTER he claims to have been informed of the betrayal. It just doesn't pass the smell test...if you are the innocent victim, then at no point do you join in the deception...he should be angry and humiliated...not covering for the perpetrator by lying too!

Sus said...

In this interview, Katie Couric asked him if he was gay. His answer, "No. Far from it. FAR from it."

He is gay. He may not realize it himself, and the other guy felt he was "helping" him as he said...to come to terms with it. I don't know, just a thought. I would think T'eo would display some anger toward "a friend" who scammed him.

Sus said...

Whoops. I should actually say...Being gay is sensitive to T'eo.

Unknown said...

I've never known someone genuinely having the great qualities that I've read Te'o possesses who needed to personally inform people about their greatness. Of course, admitting to participation in a lie while denying any responsibility in the same lie might require an increased level of self-promotion.

One indication of continued deception was the fact that he brought along audio demonstrating he was conversing with a real person. I never thought he was playing both parts; did anyone else? The school did an investigation, so they know ALL of the "hoaxer's" names. Giving the name of the woman who "played" his girlfriend would have been more definitive proof of gender than listening to a voice and saying "See, doesn't that SOUND like a girl?" He only raised more questions with that interview.

Shouldn't the leader of the Notre Dame football team get better advice from the adults around him?

Sus said...

Conan O'Brian: The only way this could get weirder is if we find out Te'o isn't real. Hahaha