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Football Star, Manti Te'o, Details Falling For Most Infamous Catfish Scam!

Baltimore Ravens v New Orleans Saints

Photo: Getty Images

Manti Te'o, a top college football player who fell for one of the most well-known catfishing scams to date, is speaking out about his choice to tell his side of the story publicly. He claims that going to a Jay-Z concert inspired him to do so.

Remember how the former Notre Dame linebacker apparently lost both his grandmother and his girlfriend in the same day in 2012? Well, the relationship was built on a lie.

Even though Te'o had previously claimed he had seen Lennay Kekua in person (Te'o firmly denies being involved in the hoax), it turns out that Te'o was unaware that she didn't actually exist. It was only after reporters investigated claims that his girlfriend died that Te'o learned he had been catfished. It's the very first high profile catfishing scams known to date.

Manti, who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, is now detailing the whole incident. He claims that seeing Jay-Z perform while playing for the New Orleans Saints in 2017 gave him the motivation to share his experience.

"Cam Jordan with the Saints took a bunch of us teammates to a Jay-Z concert," Te'o said on "CBS Mornings."

"And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words -- 'you cannot heal what you don't reveal.' And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks."

"In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it."

Teo took Jay-Z's words to heart and decided he would tell his story if given the opportunity. Then documentary director Tony Vainuku approached Te'o in 2020. From that came "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist" available on Netflix now which details how Te'o was fooled and even has commentary from the catfisher.

Now, Manti Te'o is happily married with one daughter and another child on the way.


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