The biggest topic and player with the most attention at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis has been Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te'o, who along with other players at his position worked out for scouts on Monday.
Te'o had a press conference in Indianapolis with the media that was covered by hundreds of reporters and his workouts on Monday were some of the most watched of the entire scouting event. But his workouts were not the only thing scouts were interested in, as according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports, NFL coaches and team executives were also interested in whether Te'o is gay or not.
According to CBSSports.com, Florio spoke to the Dan Patrick show about Te'o and what scouts, coaches and general managers want to know about the linebacker before drafting him.
"On the field, you still have to account for what happened in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama," Florio told the Dan Patrick Show. "Here's the elephant in the room for the teams and it shouldn't matter, but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL. Teams want to know whether Manti Te'o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it's a different world. It shouldn't be that way."
Many in the media have speculated about Te'o's sexuality after the scandal broke and Katie Couric also asked him about it in his nationally televised media interview soon after the scandal became public. Te'o has had a number of one-on-one interviews with teams and since he is the second-ranked linebacker among draft experts, many teams have made it an important point in their questioning.
"I don't think you can ask that question -- because of the Dez Bryant question (he was asked by Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland if his mother was a prostitute) of a few years ago," Florio said. "If you go Katie Couric on Manti Te'o, it's going to come out that some team, some GM some coach asked Manti Te'o if he's gay. Then you'll have to deal with all the distraction and all the stuff that flows after that."
Patrick interrupted Florio to ask: "You're telling me that you're hearing from teams who want to know this, but how do you ask it? Are they trying to find a finesse way to ask that question, or are they going to do investigative work on finding out if Manti Te'o is gay?"
Te'o is considered a first round talent, but there is a chance his stock could take a hit on Monday after running a 4.8 40-yard dash. Te'o had a poor showing in the national championship game against Alabama and the combine has been his first chance to put his skills to the test for scouts.
"Now you have a situation where you have a guy who was in a relationship with a fake girl who ended up being a real man, and the man has said to Dr. Phil that he was romantically in love with Manti Te'o, it just raises a lot of questions that the NFL at some point is going to have to deal with," he continued.
"Tony Dungy makes a great point on this. If the NFL were ready for an openly gay player, there would be an openly gay player. Nobody knows better the feel of an NFL locker room than someone who's in it," he said. "I'm not saying anyone would take Manti Te'o off the board if they suspected he's gay or know he's gay. That's just the thing that's out there that they want to know the answer to."
