Reader interest remains high on this topic, so bear with me on one more Manti Te’o column before shifting into Pro Bowl gear. As I write this Sunday evening, the Star-Advertiser website article with the most hits in the last 24 hours is about Te’o and his fake girlfriend situation … as well as two of the top three and four of the top eight.

Te’o sat down for a long interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap on Friday and we got some answers, under conditions extremely controlled by Te’o handlers.

If ESPN was really serious about getting all the dope, it would have had Schaap go out for coffee a half hour into it and replaced him with bad cop Stephen A. Smith (yeah, I watch too many detective shows). Of course, I jest … but only a little; it would’ve been fun to see what happened to Smith if he went way out of bounds.

My favorite part was when Schaap had to ask Te’o which best friend he meant. Te’o has a lot of best friends. Good, he needs them.

Manti and his parents will take to the daytime couch with Katie Couric sometime this week for an interview set to air Thursday. That’s reminiscent of Lance Armstrong and Oprah Winfrey last week, isn’t it?

But there are huge differences.

Te’o admitted lying to his father about spending time with Lennay Kekua, who we all now know did not exist (that is, as much as we can truly "know" anything in this crazy story).

Armstrong lied to the world for years about cheating in his sport of cycling. He got very aggressive with anyone who questioned if he was telling the truth about not using performance-enhancing drugs. He knowingly hurt people: their careers, finances and reputations.

If Te’o was a victim of a hoax and everything he told Schaap is true, the only person he has truly injured is himself.

Now, do I like the fact that Notre Dame and Te’o did not immediately tell us when they learned of the hoax?

Of course not. That’s another lie, to the media and by extension the fans and the general public. But to expect anything else would make us nearly as naive as Te’o for falling for a fake online girl.

Speaking of naive, or just good acting, Notre Dame athletic director Jim Swarbrick was nearly in tears when he asserted Te’o will never be as trusting of other people again. Well, maybe he shouldn’t. He’s headed for one of the toughest job markets in the world — the NFL — and it’s a cut-throat environment even for its brightest stars.

At least now we all know Te’o is a human being. Maybe he didn’t chop down the cherry tree, but he did tell a lie … or two.

How credible is his story? It all depends on what you want to believe. Perhaps a 22-year-old college football star can be that pious and that naive.

There’s a difference between implausible and impossible.

I’m curious how hard Couric will try to push through some of the remaining holes.

And what of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo? Not among Manti’s besties, we have to figure. He’s looking more and more like the bad guy. What’s his story, his motivation for such cruelty? Simple jealousy? Some sort of long-con extortion plan?

So far only second-hand and hearsay apologies from him.

The plot continues to thicken.

And sicken.

———

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser. com or 529-4783.