Ever since Manti Te’o found out that the woman he was talking to online was actually a man, his family is finally speaking out the terrible hoax that the Notre Dame alum went through.
Since Manti is a mormon that comes from a very strict Hawaiian-Samoan family, his folks were NOT amused when they learned what their loved one was going through, and now his mama, Ottilia is saying:
“He’s a typical local kid. Fake Facebook profiles? Within our community, it’s not how our kids operate. They don’t set up a fake person. I don’t think that ever crosses their minds.”
And considering that the hoaxer, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo knew that Te’o would trust anyone who came with a blessing from a close friend or family member… when the “girlfriend” Lennay Kekua hit up Manti, he trusted everything about her.
However, since the athlete never actually met with Lennay because he only made it to the West Coast, where she supposedly was, two times, he didn’t get to see her because he listened to everything his parents told him to do.
Manti’s uncle, Ephraim noted:
“Our kids are raised to be obedient. They’re not raised to be skeptical. When you’re asked to do something, there’s very little to discuss.”
Guess when it all comes down to it, Te’o seems like he was as gullible as they come, but we can’t really blame him especially because he came from a family that doesn’t judge.
At least Manti is now putting the hoax behind him, and hopefully he can move forward and make the best out of what happened!
[Image via AP Images.]