Perhaps we should all be a little bit more like Manti Te’o — in the sense that we can laugh at ourselves.
Now a contributor for NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, the former Notre Dame star and longtime NFL linebacker is making a name for himself in the media. And he’s doing so with some self-deprecating humor that fills the Los Angeles-based studio with laughter.
We all know the story by now.
Te’o was the victim of an elaborate “catfishing” scheme during his senior year at Notre Dame. He believed he was in a relationship with a woman named Lennay Kekua. This fictional girlfriend, later revealed by Deadspin in 2013, had a significant impact on Te’o’s life and career.
The hoax initially gained traction when Te’o and his family shared details about their relationship with the media. Deadspin’s investigation, exposing the truth behind Lennay Kekua, became a major sports journalism story. The incident continues to be a talking point, even being featured in a recent Netflix documentary titled Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist.
Te’o isn’t blind to it; it’s defined his entire public persona for more than a decade. As shown in the documentary, he was able to make peace with it. And he’s also able to laugh at it—or himself—now, as shown by his Friday appearance on GMFB.
During a segment in which Kyle Brandt guessed how many tackles Te’o was credited with in his college career, he admitted he didn’t know the answer. It’s not because he doesn’t keep track of these things; instead, Te’o quipped that he hasn’t googled himself since 2013.
If you were wondering if Manti Te’o has Google Alerts for his name. Well… https://t.co/7XWIGNhUFK pic.twitter.com/sDJd5r33qu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 16, 2024
“I haven’t googled myself since 2013…for obvious reasons,” he said.
You can connect the dots on that.
It took Brandt a second to realize what was going on — perhaps that’s part of the tape delay with him being on the other side of the country — but he, too, erupted in laughter. Akbar Gbajabiamila dapped Te’o up while Jamie Erdahl also struggled to contain her laughter.
She later pointed out, “We love an honest king.”
A hearty, authentic, hands to knees laugh just broke out on @gmfb —
New teammate Manti Te’o:
“I haven’t googled myself since 2013…. for obvious reasons.”
We love an honest king. 😂
— Jamie Erdahl (@JamieErdahl) August 16, 2024
That he is.
[GMFB]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.