Whenever we talk about the biggest scandals in football history, Manti Te’o’s catfish controversy always comes to mind. Even though it happened a long time ago, fans still enjoy discussing it, and the story has become so infamous that it was later adapted into a Netflix series.
If your memory of this shocking saga has faded, let’s revisit the scandal and explore what actually happened.
How Manti Te’o Was Catfished
It was September 2012, and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was one of the most popular college football players in the country. Before a game against Michigan State, Te’o revealed that he had lost both his grandmother and his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, on the same day. In December 2012, he also told the Los Angeles Times that he skipped Kekua’s funeral to continue playing, claiming it was something his late girlfriend had insisted on.
“[She] made me promise, when it happened, that I would stay and play,” he said. “All she wanted was some white roses. So I sent her roses and sent her two pics along with that.”
Fans were emotionally connected to Te’o, who dedicated his season to the two women he said he had lost. His story was seen as heartbreaking and inspiring — until a shocking revelation emerged from a Deadspin report: his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, did not exist.
“Her passing, recounted so many times in the national media, produces no obituary or funeral announcement in Nexis, and no mention in the Stanford student newspaper,” Deadspin reported in January 2013. “There is no record of her birth in the news. Outside of a few Twitter and Instagram accounts, there’s no online evidence that Lennay Kekua ever existed.”
So did Te’o lie to his fans for sympathy? No. He was a victim himself; he was “catfished.” Deadspin’s report also revealed the person behind it all, Naya Tuiasosopo. She later came out as transgender and was struggling with her gender identity. As a way to cope, she created a fake Facebook account under the name “Lennay Kekua.”
Later, as revealed in an official statement from his team, Te’o had no idea that the person was not real. Tuiasosopo and others had fooled him into believing that she had died of leukemia.
Te’o was the actual victim in the story. Just a few months earlier, fans were on his side, admiring his journey and talent. However, after this shocking revelation, when he needed support the most, many chose instead to mock him and create memes. He was criticized for believing in a girlfriend he had never met in real life.
Back in those days, due to a lack of awareness, fooling someone online was even easier. Sadly, many people chose to turn the situation into a joke rather than treat it as a serious issue. The catfish scandal also negatively impacted Te’o’s career and remains a widely discussed topic even after more than 12 years.
In 2022, Netflix released a documentary on the incident, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. Both Te’o and Tuiasosopo appeared in the documentary. They shared their sides of the story to the world, serving as a reminder that people should always be cautious before believing someone online.
