NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 30: Manti Te'o #51 of the New Orleans Saints reacts to a play during a NFL game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 30, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Former all-star college footballer and current NFL free agent Manti Te’o is reliving his experience of being the target of an elaborate catfishing hoax in a new Netflix mini-docuseries Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. The doc features interviews with Te’o and his catfisher Naya Tuiasosopo.
This incident occurred during Te’o’s senior season at Notre Dame, the last of a defensive college football career that saw him win several awards including being unanimously voted an All-American player in 2012. His relationship became the subject of media scrutiny when he announced that his girlfriend and grandmother had died on the same day in September 2012.
The sports blog Deadspin first broke in January of 2013 that the player’s supposed girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, was a false identity created by Tuiasosopo using photos of a classmate Diane O’Meara without her consent. While some first believed that Te’o was also behind the hoax, he has maintained that he had no knowledge of the catfishing
Luckily, the awful incident did not affect Te’o’s professional football career. He has played for the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and most recently was part of the Chicago Bears’ practice squad from late 2020 to early 2021.
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