Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o admitted to Katie Couric that he lied in two interviews after learning his supposed dead girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, was not real.
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Te'o said he did not lie until December, when he learned Kekua wasn't real. At that point, The Associated Press notes two separate instances where Te'o mentioned Kekua.
"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said in an interview that will air Thursday on Couric's talk show, "Katie". "Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?"
At a minimum, Te'o seems to be guilty of naiveté and consistent embellishment of his relationship with Kekua to the media. Now he's admitting to lying at one point but not others. (It's not a great sign when "Saturday Night Live" has produced the most cogent analysis of the story.)
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Also not helping: Te'o's family recently hired a spokesman who's also Couric's longtime spokesman. It is very possible Te'o has nothing to hide, but that creates the appearance he's being manipulated now, just like he was by Kekua. Now he's just paying for it.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
