The Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax story is one of the most intriguing and strange sports stories in recent memory and it's not going away anytime soon.
Following the news about the hoax and more reports coming out daily, people on social media have taken to a new internet meme nicknamed "Te'oing", which derives from the term "Tebowing," which was named after quarterback Tim Tebow and his custom of kneeling down on one knee and praying on the football field.
The new trend has taken off on social media sites, including on tumblr and on Twitter with its own hashtag. Here is some links to people's pictures who have posted shots of them "Te'oing", which is described as people posing with blank spaces and saying it's their girlfriend or another person.
Some posts brought in Clint Eastwood to the mix, comparing his move of talking to an invisible chair at the Republican National Convention as an early form of the meme:
Some tweets include: "Maybe it was Manti Teo's girlfriend sitting in Clint Eastwood's chair.
- Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) January 17, 2013."
"Pres. #Obama sits down for a conversation with Manti's girlfriend. Clint Eastwood moderates. #teoing #eastwoodingyfrog.com/h6qg5rlj- DD (@Easy_Tyger) January 17, 2013."
Many different types of photos started popping up online once it was revealed that Lennay Kekua, Manti Te'o's alleged girlfriend, did not exist.
The original story was reported by Deadspin.com, revealing that the inspirational story about Te'o using his girlfriend's death from leukemia as an inspiration was found out to be a hoax. The report says that the girl Te'o claimed was his girlfriend was a made up identity and that the woman, Lennay Kekua, did not exist.
"Everyone is walking around taking pictures of themselves Te'oing... #officeproblems," one person tweeted.
Deadspin.com reported that it could find no record of Lennay Kekua existing. Notre Dame issued a news release following the report, saying that "the proper authorities" are investigating a "very cruel deception."
Te'o issued a statement Wednesday afternoon:
"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her."
Things have started to take a strange turn though, as Te'o has been quoted as saying he met her and also said things about her even after the date he claimed he found out it was a hoax. He described her and his interactions with her in great detail for a Sports Illustrated story and now there are reports that Notre Dame players knew the girlfriend was fake.
One teammate spoke anonymously to ESPN.com and said that the move as part of the All-American's personality, saying that Te'o liked attention so much that he would sometimes point himself out to friends when he was on television.
Following the original news, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a press conference Wednesday and said:
"On the morning of Dec. 26, very early morning, Manti called his coaches to inform them that while he was in attendance at the ESPN awards show in Orlando, he received a phone call from a number he recognized as having been that he associated with Lennay Kekua," Swarbrick said. "When he answered it, it was a person whose voice sounded like the same person he had talked to, who told him that she was, in fact, not dead. Manti was very unnerved by that, as you might imagine."
Reporters spoke to NCAA President Mark Emmert said and asked if the NCAA was monitoring the Te'o story for possible rules violations. He said:
"We don't know anything more than you do," he told reporters at the organization's convention in Dallas. "We're learning about this through the stories just the same as you are. But we have to wait and see what really transpired there. It's obviously (a) very disturbing story and it's hard to tell where the facts lie at this point. But Notre Dame is obviously looking into it and there will be a lot more to come forward. Right now, it just looks ... well, we don't know what the facts are, so I shouldn't comment beyond that."
The whole story is strange, but until Te'o describes in more detail what happened, the Internet and media will continue to speculate what he knew and when and if he was complicit or not.
