Notre Dame Star Part of a Hoax? [UPDATED]

Manti Te'o became a household name this season as a dominating defensive force for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He also received a lot of attention for playing through adversity, after both his grandmother and girlfriend passed away during the season. Oh, wait...Nevermind. His girlfriend didn't die...She never even existed.

Reports are now coming out that Te'o was the victim of a hoax after being contacted and befriended by a woman named Lennay Kekua, who set up this elaborate hoax with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University investigated the claims and the authorities are even involved at this point.

There are a few things about this story that I don't really understand. For starters, why would Te'o claim this woman was his girlfriend if he had never met her? Was this a budding Facebook romance that never came to be? I truly hope this is just a sick joke that was played on Manti and not something he was a part of himself. I'd like to think that a man of his stature wouldn't go this far to gain publicity...But, in this day and age, you never know.

Update (6:10pm): Here's what Te'o had to say about the entire situation:

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. To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life. I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been. In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was. Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft.

[Source: Deadspin]