Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend Is A Hoax

Deadspin has uncovered a hoax involving Heisman trophy candidate Manti T’eo. His dead girlfriend, who was mentioned in multiple news stories related to T’eo, never actually existed. Notre Dame has released a statement saying he was the victim of a hoax and wasn’t involved in it:

Notre Dame Statement: Manti Te’o

On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te’o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators.

Dennis Brown