The former Notre Dame superstar linebacker told friends that he knew the truth about Lennay Kekua in early December but continued the lie for 20 days for the sake of his team.
People connected to Te’o say it’s true what ND Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday night, that Manti realized he had been hoaxed on Dec. 6, when he got a phone call from “Lennay” months after he thought she was dead.
But sources tell tmz.com that Manti didn’t tell his coaches about the hoax until Dec. 26 because he thought it would be a huge distraction while the team prepared to face Alabama in the BCS national championship game in early January. Still, what’s troubling is that ESPN and Sports Illustrated — two sports reporting giants who got sucked in with Te’o’s bogus story initially — now have reported that teammates of Te’o knew that his “girlfriend” was fiction.
During that period between Dec. 6 and the day after Christmas, Manti struggled over how to handle the situation but eventually felt compelled to come clean to his coaches.
Manti is currently training for the NFL combines in South Florida and he’s getting a lot of support from the guys he’s been training with.
Question is, will he receive the same type of positive treatment from NFL owners, general managers and their bloodhound investigators when he gets interviewed by them prior to the draft.
