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Te'o interview 'scrapped'

By Ferd Lewis

POSTED:
LAST UPDATED: 02:21 a.m. HST, Jan 18, 2013

COURTESY CAL SPORT MEDIA / NOVEMBER 2012
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o entered Notre Dame stadium for the last time as a player prior to the game with Wake Forest. Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o will apparently wait a little longer before publicly speaking to the media about his bizarre story centering around a fictional girlfriend's purported death in September.

Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o will apparently wait a little longer before publicly speaking to the media about his bizarre story centering around a fictional girlfriend's purported death in September. 

Te'o, who Wednesday issued a statement saying he had been victimized in an online hoax, had been expected to appear on television Thursday afternoon with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in a one-on-one interview that was to have been put together by his representatives at Creative Artists Agency. 

But the Chicago Tribune reported today that the plan had been "scrapped."

An ESPN spokesman told the Star-Advertiser in an email, "we never announced we had an interview ... we are pursuing one like every other media outet."

Te'o, a 2009 graduate of Punahou School from Laie, issued a statement through his representatives Wednesday but has yet to appear in front of the media. Te'o said he was embarrassed and humiliated to acknowledge that he had been duped in a bogus online and phone romance.

He reportedly is in Florida at the IMG Institute in preparation for the NFL Draft Combine Feb. 20-26 in Indianapolis.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday that he expected Te'o to speak today. "At the end of the day, this is Manti's story to tell. Which he is going to do," Swarbrick said.






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OldDiver wrote:
So the ESPN interview was a hoax too?
on January 17,2013 | 07:55AM
CriticalReader wrote:
More media reporting on the media (which is really what this whole thing is all about). What's the next story headline? "ESPN hasn't talked to Te'o Since yesterday"??? "Reporter Wonders What Happened"??? "Enough already. A college kid got embarrassed. The media "adults" should stop piling on because they were too.
on January 17,2013 | 08:26AM
hanoz808 wrote:
LOL!
on January 17,2013 | 08:32AM
allie wrote:
Whatever Manti did to increase national sympathy for him, I blame the PR folks at Notre dame for giving him a false image. Truth is, Notre Dame, a football factory, has been under pressure to clean up its scandal-plagued program and to appear clean and admirable. Manti got caught up in that. Please be skeptical. Many manufactured "heroes" have been exposed in the last several years.
on January 17,2013 | 09:15AM
fishwrider wrote:
and yet you're here posting, 24/7 claiming to be a "UH coed" when you were outed as a guy a few months back. Talk about phony internet personas. does your constant negative postings on people who matter make you feel better, troll?
on January 17,2013 | 09:28AM
Morimoto wrote:
I think we all get allie is a troll but I think the more you emphasize it the more he gets turned on by it. Maybe ignore him for a while and see what happens.
on January 17,2013 | 11:41AM
fishwrider wrote:
might work.....but then again, the truth shall set us free.
on January 17,2013 | 01:46PM
allie wrote:
Notre dame PR folks are telling him what to say...they need time to get their story straight
on January 17,2013 | 10:14AM
KekoaBradshaw wrote:
so what's your response to what "fishwrider" posted?
on January 17,2013 | 11:31AM
Hapa_Haole_Boy wrote:
allie = lennay kekua
on January 17,2013 | 01:50PM
busterb wrote:
Too bad the SA "blew him up" to sell a handful of papers, and got blacklisted, or they might've scored a national scoop.
on January 17,2013 | 12:17PM
peanutgallery wrote:
Today's sports programs no longer create character; they reveal it.
on January 18,2013 | 01:57AM
pgkemp wrote:
geeez, i guess more time is needed to collaborate...daddy needs to find a life..........
on January 17,2013 | 08:07AM
builderguy wrote:
What's with the dad. Can someone shed some light on this, curious.
on January 17,2013 | 08:19AM
fishwrider wrote:
I think pgkemp has daddy issues.
on January 17,2013 | 09:45AM
thatsashame_0723 wrote:
I think you're on to the biggest person behind this
on January 17,2013 | 08:19AM
Maneki_Neko wrote:
Spin control is moving at near supersonic speed. The tough part is how the family met a girl who did not exist. How Manti and she held hands and gazed into each other's loving eyes when she did not exist. How the absence of a dead body and a funeral was conveniently missing in the tale. Something here smells very bad. Somebody got carried away with trying to build the "brand"?
on January 17,2013 | 08:09AM
allie wrote:
yup..even ESPN got duped. The national media was duped. The SA was duped. Now let us investigate how Manti got brought into Punahou. Lot of talk about that I am told
on January 17,2013 | 09:16AM
fishwrider wrote:
It wouldn't be a blog if allie wasn't here bright and early posting “her” (i.e. really a “him”, read below) broken record posts about how bad everything about/related to Hawaii is. Message board MO is a "UH coed freshman from North Dakota" so as not to be revealed as a straight-up outsider loser with an axe to grind. Problem with the MO is that she's claimed to be a freshman on these blogs for the last three years (the three year freshman program?). FYI, "allie" was outed as an older guy a few months back when “she” slipped and commented about Hawaii HS football in the '80's and '90's as well as a number of other past local events/people. allie claimed that "she" played volleyball in North Dakota and was INVITED to walk-on at UH. I'VE VERIFIED AND KNOW FOR A FACT THAT NO ONE FROM NORTH DAKOTA WAS ASKED TO WALK-ON...EVER. When confronted with that, allie then claimed that she asked to tryout and wasn't INVITED. Changing her story to cover her lies is getting pathetic. This phony also slipped when she claimed that her professor commented about Colt Brennan being irresponsible and morally corrupt for driving drunk on the day BEFORE the story came out in the SA. The problem was that Colt was arrested at midnight, AFTER allie's supposed class. Allie also commented that Colorado State’s football woes are ok because unlike Hawaii they’re a “1st Tier” school (this was false as well since UH and CSU are in the same tier per US News and World Report). You tell me what UH “student” would diss their school in so many ways. ANSWER: A poster who isn’t really a UH coed but rather a GUY masquerading as one. Allie also claimed she could have easily attended Duke if she tried. Another tall tale as there is no way of knowing this without applying. He’s a man, man!! WATCH OUT BOYS!!!!!! LOL.
on January 17,2013 | 09:29AM
Nevadan wrote:
You have "verified"? You sure have lots of time to waste.
on January 17,2013 | 09:47AM
fishwrider wrote:
Time to waste? Like taking the time out to respond to a post accusing one of having time to waste? Move along, Mary. It doesn't matter what you think. LOL.
on January 17,2013 | 09:55AM
PTF wrote:
Allie is also "Alice" on Honolulu Topix doing the same shenanigans
on January 17,2013 | 10:10AM
turbolink wrote:
Which is probably why she has a hard time keeping her story lines consistent...so much trash talk, no substance to back it up. How ironic that she criticizes someone else for made up stories.
on January 17,2013 | 05:50PM
jisurfer wrote:
Why is this such a big issue? Sure, it's a little lolo, but what does it have to do with his playing abilities? He didn't hurt anyone, he didn't commit a crime, get over it.
on January 17,2013 | 08:14AM
menejohn wrote:
one theory is that Teo perpuated a hoax to enhance his reputation and thus his value. Maybe not a crime, but pretty dishonest if true.
on January 17,2013 | 08:42AM
hanoz808 wrote:
thats low character
on January 17,2013 | 09:12AM
allie wrote:
true but it may be worse than that
on January 17,2013 | 09:16AM
fishwrider wrote:
worse than you pretending to be a UH coed when you were outed as a man?
on January 17,2013 | 09:30AM
Allenk wrote:
It's like enhancing your resume or claiming to have certain degrees that you never actually obtained. It is dishonest.
on January 17,2013 | 09:53AM
ezridah wrote:
not questioning his playing abilities...just his integrity as a human being...much less important..
on January 17,2013 | 08:44AM
allie wrote:
yes, his playing ability was questioned by Alabama.
on January 17,2013 | 09:16AM
fishwrider wrote:
as was your gender.
on January 17,2013 | 09:31AM
Oahuan wrote:
Scraped so that he can get his story straight.
on January 17,2013 | 08:23AM
livealoha wrote:
The cover up is worse than the lie. Even if Te’o was hoaxed, he sure did exploit this relationship to be much more than it is. For that alone he should apologize. Just come clean, people are very forgiving, but they do not like being lied to.
on January 17,2013 | 08:54AM
wsato wrote:
family on 9/12/12: "mayans say the world going end on 12/21/12 so we spin this story and no matter". family on 12/22/12: "oops, now what we going do?"
on January 17,2013 | 09:15AM
lowtone123 wrote:
If Te'o is not involved in the hoax and was duped he should come out and say so. It's embarrassing now but it could be far more worse if he drags this longer and people start coming out of the woodwork with lies about him.
on January 17,2013 | 09:19AM
ellinaskyrt wrote:

The Star-Advertiser first page placement of that pic of Manti Teo being "bowled over" so incensed Brian Teo that he called upon Teo fans to blacklist the Star-Advertiser. Brian Teo claimed that the Star-Advertiser was backstabbing the Teos, who had provided favored access to his son and wanted the SA to be punished financially.

It doesn't take any stretch of imagination to believe that such a father - so concerned about perpetuating his son's perfect image as triumphant over adversity - would have had an active hand in continuing the myth of a terminally ill girlfriend who dies the same night as Manti's grandmother. One need look only at the fact that he had told journalists his son first met his fake girlfriend at a game and then that she would time her visits to Hawaii with Manti. Yet the claim by the Teos now is that the relationship was online only? Right.

As for what could be gained by this lie? The myth of having triumphed over the personal adversity of having had not just his beloved grandmother but his girlfriend (whom his father claimed would have become Manti's wife) die the same day was a tangible factor in why Manti was a Heisman contender. Mere men are able to play if tutu dies. But if tutu and fiance die? On the same day? And the boy still wins the game? That's just beyond amazing--it's the kind of stuff that later parlays into NFL legend and millions of dollars.

It would not surprise me one bit if proof arose that the Teos have their hands dirty on this. Greed makes people do the crazy.


on January 17,2013 | 09:26AM
livealoha wrote:
Well written!
on January 17,2013 | 09:35AM
KekoaBradshaw wrote:
I agree.
on January 17,2013 | 11:39AM
jussayin wrote:
Me too; I agree. Also, seems like Teo is still trying to get his story straight.
on January 17,2013 | 11:47AM
kennie1933 wrote:
This is probably the best comment on the topic that I've read thus far! Like everything else, it is only speculation, but I think that all the evidence that has come out shows that this is the likely scenario. I see his parents, particularly his father Brian as one of those intense "soccer mom" or "beauty pageant mom" types (sorry, moms) where they think their child can do not wrong and is definitely the BEST candidate/player. Of course, as parents, we all like to think that our child is special and is the best at everything but reality needs to sink in. No doubt, Manti is a good player, and he doesn't really need these off the field distractions to make him look better. But now, it seems to be backfiring. I recall seeing a story on ESPN where Brian would have Manti do all sorts of crazy training activities and yes, it apparently worked, but that just shows how intense he was to do anything to make Manti better. I've seen other similar stories of parents pushing their children to the brink of tears. Maybe it works out financially, I don't know. But having Mr. Teo do something like continuing the myth would not be unlikely.
on January 17,2013 | 12:26PM
Anonymous wrote:
We all missed the girl's funeral because it too was online and not real. Can you imagine all the virtual tears that must have been shed?
on January 17,2013 | 09:32AM
pgkemp wrote:
wonder how many envelopes manti received..........?
on January 17,2013 | 09:50AM
fishwrider wrote:
Go ask his dad. You seem to know him intimately judging from your posts. Let us know. Thanks.
on January 17,2013 | 09:57AM
pgkemp wrote:
alot
on January 17,2013 | 11:58AM
fishwrider wrote:
feel free to elaborate. sounds good.
on January 17,2013 | 01:47PM
Publicbraddah wrote:
Somebody, call Oprah!
on January 17,2013 | 09:53AM
lee1957 wrote:
I think Manti is already booked, going to air right after the Lance Armstrong interview.
on January 17,2013 | 10:31AM
gobows wrote:
SHE'S busy......I heard JAY LENO is available......
on January 17,2013 | 10:39AM
likewise wrote:
It all sounds shadey. That flushing noise you hear is a bunch of possible endorsement deals that just went down the drain.
on January 17,2013 | 10:30AM
mrssurfer wrote:
I don't follow sports very closely, but I remember hearing about when Teo's grandma and gf died. The girl's picture that was suposed to be his gf...was it in the media before the hoax news? If so, didn't anyone who knows that girl contact her then? It was in the media the gf went to Stanford...didn't anyone at Stanford check? I would've thought that somone would've done some kind of search on the gf as soon as he gave a name.
on January 17,2013 | 10:33AM
Descartes22 wrote:
It is unsurprising that the interview was cancelled. The CAA and ND spin artists who coached Te'o in what to say have come to their senses. The evidence and common sense show that Te'o and his family perpetuated the fraud. He cannot go on record (ala Armstrong and the baseball steroiders) to further dig a hole by denying and lying. The media was lazy when the story broke. But they're all over it now. More will be uncovered.
on January 17,2013 | 10:36AM
kennie1933 wrote:
You know what I can't figure out is how Manti can even call this girl his "girlfriend." Maybe I'm old fashioned but to me, a girlfirend is someone you actually meet, go out with, share mutual memories, etc. Someone you meet online I wouldn't even call just a plain "friend" until we actually meet, no matter the gender. They didn't even skype. Someone with Manti's intelligence (Punahou, ND) you would think would at least skype. If he's truly that gullible, I have a bridge to Molokai that I'd like to sell to him.
on January 17,2013 | 12:31PM
gobows wrote:
HOW can I get my envelope BACK??!!
on January 17,2013 | 10:38AM
CartwrightPark wrote:
Ho da shame!
on January 17,2013 | 10:58AM
serious wrote:
Let's let the dust settle before we make accusations. But,having said that, if you tell the truth all the time, you don't have to go back and read the interviews!!
on January 17,2013 | 11:23AM
OnlyChrist wrote:
ARN'T THERE BETTER NEWS TO WRITE ABOUT THAN 'GOSSIPS'? WHO CARES ABOUT ABOUT TE'O. 'NOUGH ALREADY!!
on January 17,2013 | 11:16AM
copperwire9 wrote:
WHO CARES ABOUT ABOUT TE'O? Only Christ?
on January 17,2013 | 09:49PM
awahana wrote:
Rumor is they had to come up with this story because he is gay.
on January 17,2013 | 11:21AM
engineersoldier wrote:
We indulge in way too much hero worshipping and media juSt love to fuel it.
on January 17,2013 | 11:59AM
raspberrygoat wrote:
If Manti did not do anything illegal, and nothing illegal was done against him, why is this headline news?
on January 17,2013 | 12:10PM
Publicbraddah wrote:
Not looking good for Manti. I hope it's a case of him being duped but if he, his family, and friends were in on this, I don't know how he'll be able to show face in Hawaii. It would undo everything he did as a player and person and disappoint many kids who looked up to him as a role model. Unless they save someone's life, athletes should not be considered heroes. They're entertainers. You want a hero? Look no further than your own neighborhood to find people who give of themselves without all the fanfare.
on January 17,2013 | 12:12PM
ellinaskyrt wrote:
*LIKE*
on January 17,2013 | 01:46PM
kennie1933 wrote:
ditto
on January 17,2013 | 02:02PM
kaulanakala wrote:
Manti should come out like yesterday already...fess up...take the lumps...get drafted with million dollar less...play...play...play...and by the NFL 3rd game....everyone forget already
on January 17,2013 | 02:39PM
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