All Things Notre Dame - The Clashmore Mike Memorial Thread

[Clashmore Mike]

As far as ND goes, the few Michigan fans on this Michigan based and Michigan administered forum are the only ones claiming any kind of scandal or cover up at Notre Dame...

Sure, it was/is embarrassing. But that's all. Nothing illegal, no NCAA issue and/or violations. Now that Teo has spoken, hopefully we can get back to recruiting and try to land the #1 class in the nation...

[Rocky Bleier]

As far as ND goes, the few Michigan fans on this Michigan based and Michigan administered forum are the only ones claiming any kind of scandal or cover up at Notre Dame...

I'm certain their are fans all over the country who feel the same way...

[Jeff Buchanan]

Clash, TBH, I don't see a scandal or cover-up by ND principals. What I see is a student athlete who got caught up in something I don't think he entirely understood, needed some adult supervision and support, and, if appearances are an indicator, didn't get it.

Look, my point is that at an early stage, if ND officials who had knowledge of this, had done something like tell the true story of what happened and then cast it in a background of support for one of their own who got caught up in something pretty sick, they would have come out smelling like a rose. Right now, it would seem, instead of acting like they were adults, they've managed to create a circus.

Ask me if I know about this circus creating shit in a football program?

[lineygoblue]

I don't see it as a "ND" thing, as much as I see it as a T'eo thing.

If the kid embellished the story/situation to gain sympathy or attention, then he has issues that need to be dealt with. I don't think ND has anything to do with that.

He will have to be brutally honest with NFL scouts. They'll look at this as a character issue.

[Rocky Bleier]

"At the very least, he’s exposed himself as incredibly trusting and wildly gullible. Not only did he fall for this hoax for three years, he allowed himself to be taken back in by the woman he believed to be deceased for months. At what point does your radar go off?"

Te'o said it never occurred to him to go to the hospital or to Kekua's funeral when she died.
"It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," Te'o said.

Dr. Saturday article raises questions about Teo's veracity:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/manti-te-os-off-camera-interview-leaves-more-064213663--ncaaf.html#more-25684

[hack]

That Teo is reporting this to the AD is weird. Do all of Brady Hoke's 110 sons talk to Dave Brandon about their relationship issues?

[geo weidl]

This teo thing is starting to make sense.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/01/16/brazilian-website-creates-fake-girlfriends/

[Hannibal]

Once again -- this is all bullshit. Teo never claimed until last week that this was an internet only girlfriend that he never met. And he says that he talked to her for hours on the phone every night. Where are the phone records, and who devoted that kind of time to talking to this guy over the phone for just a prank? If this were an actual hoax perpetrated on Teo, they could find probably find out who the woman really was in about five minutes. It's frightening that so many people are willing to swallow this.

[hack]

Agreed.

[Rocky Bleier]

Can't really believe his friends and family, who would benefit from him going high in the draft. His Draft Day fall will be interesting to watch. I'd laugh my ass off if he fell to the 3rd round. NFL teams will carry out a real investigation into the matter, not the "Google search" Notre Dame did.


"The South Bend Tribune reported that the investigation Notre Dame ordered was limited to an electronic search, and that no one interviewed Te?o or his family, or attempted to reach Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the suspected mastermind of the hoax, or any of his family members.

The investigation also, the paper said, did not examine cell phone records, emails or other electronic communication that Te?o said he had with the person claiming to be his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua."

[Clashmore Mike]

I'm certain their are fans all over the country who feel the same way...

There is certainly a contingent within every fan-base that will mentally create a scenario that is more based on what they want to be true, rather than what the evidence points to.

In the interests of fairness, that contingent on ND boards is a sub-set that is absolutely convinced that because Ronaiah Tuiasosopo's father played for USC, this whole thing was a spectacular covert operation hatched by Lane Kiffen to destroy Teo's self confidence and deny ND an otherwise deserved National Title.

[Clashmore Mike]

That Teo is reporting this to the AD is weird. Do all of Brady Hoke's 110 sons talk to Dave Brandon about their relationship issues?

I think this is the exception, not the rule. Three weeks before the biggest game of his life and biggest game for ND in 20+ years, the captain of the team, finds out that he's been duped and that not only was the hoax carried on national media and associated with ND via the winning season...but that he actually embellished and exaggerated the story a number of times.

That calls for more than a letter to Dear Abby.

[Clashmore Mike]

"The South Bend Tribune reported that the investigation Notre Dame ordered was limited to an electronic search, and that no one interviewed Te?o or his family, or attempted to reach Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the suspected mastermind of the hoax, or any of his family members.

The investigation also, the paper said, did not examine cell phone records, emails or other electronic communication that Te?o said he had with the person claiming to be his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua."

That search was sufficient for ND to issue the statement and presser that it did. Certainly there hasn't been anything in ND's position that has since been proven incorrect.

[hack]

Certainly there hasn't been anything in ND's position that has since been proven incorrect.

How reassuring! (C'mon now...)

[Clashmore Mike]

A couple of misc thoughts....

Per a subsequent interview with Jack Swarbrick, Teo was scheduled to come out with a statement last Monday...then the decision was made to hold off for a week. That decision proved to be a terrible mistake as Deadspin broke the story a day or two later.

Thank God Teo didn't win the Heisman. Despite all the criteria claiming that the award is based on performance on the field...it still would have gone down as a catastrophe.

Kind of an upside to this...after Kelly interviewing with the Eagles and this Manti media blitz...it seems like months ago that we got stomped in the BCS championship.

Don't understand the obtuse nature of Deadspin here. They broke the story and deserve all the credit in the world for it. I'm guessing in their race to be the first, they couldn't do a complete vetting of whether or not Teo was involved. They choose wrong and cheapened the piece with their "anonymous friend thinks there is an 80% chance Teo is in on it" bit. Fine...it's ok to be wrong sometimes...but now that more and more evidence is coming out that Teo was not involved, instead of retracting that part and just basking in the glory of having scooped the rest of the world...these idiots instead have choosen to dig in their heels.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGoVSEpy7cA"]Manti Te'o- Brain Fart report on CNN - YouTube[/ame]