Deadspin Offers Detailed and Fair Explanation of Manti Te’o Girlfriend Hoax

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BY STEVEN KUBITZA

Wednesday’s revelation by Deadspin.com about Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman finalist Manti Te’o was certainly a bold and controversial claim, but given its detail it is clear this was not a side project taken up by the writers.

Authors Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey did extensive research on the topic. They conducted background checks into the identity of the girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, who appears to not be a real person. The perception is that the identity was that of a “catfish,” a term used to describe someone who uses a different identity online.

This part of the story sets up the possibility that Te’o was the victim of a hoax, but there are also points that make it seem like he may have been behind it all along.

Burke and Dickey did a great job posing both possible sides of the situation, without making accusations that could come off as too bold. They lean towards the side that he was behind the situation, but they posted his statement that said he was a victim. It is a fair and professional approach to a story of such magnitude.

While many media outlets have picked up on this story, it was Burke and Dickey who broke it.

They set up a basis of evidence that will be used to further investigate their claims, which will certainly be a popular topic in the near future.

Manti Te’o’s Girlfriend A Hoax

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BY LORI RAUDIO

Most people who followed college football this season heard the story of Notre Dame player Manti Te’o. The Heisman candidate inspired thousands of people when he led the Fighting Irish to an undefeated season despite two devastating losses in his family: his grandmother and his girlfriend.

Te’o’s tragic tale consumed the media. His story was featured in Sports Illustrated and on College Gameday and became one of the biggest stories of the year. He even wrote a letter to a family who lost a child, identifying with their pain and offering comfort.

Today, however, the story came crashing down. In a story by Deadspin, authors Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey revealed Te’o’s girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, never existed. They found no record of her birth, no death certificate, and supposed pictures of her were traced to a different woman. This news broke on Twitter and immediately went viral.

Within a few hours of the article being published and the Twitter overload, Notre Dame and Te’o released statements. Both acknowledged the hoax as well as an ongoing investigation. Te’o called the situation “incredibly embarrassing to talk about,” and said the woman he thought he was in an online relationship played a sick joke.

This news leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Who is the woman Te’o thought he was dating? Where did Deadspin obtain its information, and why didn’t Te’o comment before the story broke?

With the way the media hyped Te’o’s story, it is simply shocking to believe it isn’t true. While I feel sorry for Te’o, I also feel a little betrayed. How long were we led to believe his story after he learned the truth?

More information will surely come out pending the investigation, and this story will surely be a headline in the media for the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see how Te’o’s fans react and how it affects his NFL prospects.

Sportswriter Questions Lance Armstrong’s Doping Admission

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BY LORI RAUDIO

Lance Armstrong has once again captured headlines after he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. In an interview with Oprah, yet to air, Armstrong reportedly came clean about what most people have known for a long time. Yahoo Sports reporter Dan Wetzel analyzed the situation in an article titled “Lance Armstrong’s Doping Admission: Questions Oprah Should Have Asked.”

Most people know cycling is riddled with performance-enhancing drugs, so this shouldn’t be a surprise. Rather, people are questioning the time of his admission and his motives. As Wetzel asks, “Why now, Lance?”

Wetzel made many great points in his article. For one, he mentions Armstrong did some positive things in his career. He did beat cancer and used his platform to inspire millions of others through his Livestrong foundation. Beyond this, however, Armstrong’s choices negatively impacted the lives of people who tried to reveal his secret.

If Armstrong simply admitted to doping a long time ago, I think it would be easier to forgive him. But, as Wetzel showed in his article, there is a laundry list of people who Armstrong took down in his denial. He falsely sued the Sunday Times of London for libel, he threatened those who spoke against him including former teammates and employees, and created many other lawsuits just to protect his lies.

There are probably more people Armstrong hurt to keep the truth from coming out. Why is he now choosing to admit his wrongdoings, and will he be forgiven by his fans and the sports world? These are all questions to be answered in the next few weeks. After the Oprah interview airs, it will be interesting to see if Armstrong is truly sorry for his actions or has ulterior motives for his doping admission.

McCarron’s girlfriend becomes ‘overnight sensation’

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BY KIA TYUS

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s girlfriend, Katherine Webb, became an overnight sensation following ESPN’s extended commentary on her during the BCS National Championship game.

Was the commentary too much for Miss Alabama? Not so, she said.

Webb called Brent Musburger’s apology unnecessary,  “stating that he never said any derogatory terms toward her.” She told E News she was flattered and any person should be if called pretty in a respectful manner.

ESPN also issued an apology to Webb for the momentary indiscretion of their employee.

Musberger, an ESPN analyst on the call for the game, went on, at length, about how pretty Webb and McCarron’s mom were. He told parents to make their son a quarterback because it will net them a pretty girlfriend.

Many people chimed in on this story. Donald Trump said, “Musburger said what everyone was thinking.” Others called it funny because of Musburger’s age.

Announcers Make Inappropriate Comments During BCS Blowout

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BY LORI RAUDIO

It was clear early on in the BCS Championship game Alabama had control of the game over Notre Dame. The Crimson Tide scored quickly and easily, so announcers Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit were forced to look for other topics to keep things interesting.

After Alabama took an early 14-0 lead, the cameras panned to a woman in the crowd, who Musburger and Herbstreit took quite an interest in. Musburger identified the woman as Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. He told viewers this “lovely lady” is a student at Auburn, the University of Alabama’s rival, and a former Ms. Alabama pageant winner.

Musburger didn’t stop there. He continued and said, “Wow, you quarterbacks get all the good looking women. What a beautiful woman, whoa!” Herbstreit can be heard laughing and saying, “AJ’s doing some things right down in Tuscaloosa.” Musburger chimed in again with some advice for the kids watching. “If you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pops,” he said.

Viewers immediately took to Twitter to talk about Mursburger and Herbstreit’s comments, and the video has since gone viral. This incident is just another example of how fast a comment can be spread with today’s technology. Media personnel need to be more aware of what they say and the possible implications it could have.

I think Musburger and Herbstreit’s comments were highly inappropriate. Instead of just introducing Webb as McCarron’s girlfriend and moving on, they took it a few steps too far. The game may have not been as interesting as they hoped, but they should have found other talking points than a player’s attractive girlfriend.

Analyst deserves longer suspension for RG3 comments

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BY KIA TYUS

ESPN analysts are known for their ignorance, but how far is too far?

Rob Parker took it too far when discussing Robert Griffin III. Parker questioned Griffin’s blackness because he is engaged to a white woman.

Parker’s comments were very uneducated as interracial relationships are a big part of our society. Parker also claimed Griffin was a Republican. What does his political affiliation have to do with his identity?

His comments reflected poorly on ESPN and could make other black ESPN analysts, his co-workers, uncomfortable.

Griffin and his fiancé were also impacted by his comments. The star quarterback could now endure backlash for his political views.      

Parker apologized, but it did not seem sincere. He only apologized due to the negative response received from ESPN and sporting world.

He was suspended for 30 days, but I feel it should have been longer. He impacted many people through his statement.

Raudio weighs in on racist tweet during Obama’s Newtown speech

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BY LORI RAUDIO

During this week’s Sunday Night Football game, NBC pre-empted the game to cover President Obama’s speech in Newtown, Conn.

Most appreciated the sign of respect for the tragedy, but not all.

One North Alabama football player, Bradley Snapper, sent a racist tweet when the game was interrupted, according to an article in the New York Daily News.

Many Twitter users were outraged and notified North Alabama’s athletic director, Mark Linder. He responded quickly, notifying them Snapper was no longer a member of the team. He also thanked users for the information and emphasized North Alabama doesn’t condone such behavior.

According to the article, Snapper wasn’t the only one upset about the interruption. Other people sent tweets voicing their anger.

It’s very upsetting to see this. For a nation in mourning, it is important to be united and hear from our leaders. Sports can have healing properties, but the nation’s current priorities should be in helping Newtown. I’m glad NBC saw the importance of the President’s speech and broadcast it on their main network.

I believe this delicate situation was handled very appropriately. NBC made the right call showing the speech on their main network, and Linder and the University of North Alabama made the right call removing the player from the team.

It is sad to see people such as Snapper with the wrong priorities, but I’m glad to see a majority of the media, the sport industry, and the nation show respect and honor to the victims in Newtown.

TV networks show respect for Newtown tragedy

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BY DANE WINDISCH

Following the tragedy in Newton, Conn., I was interested to see how the media covered the story in their pregame broadcasts and during Sunday Night Football.

CBS, ESPN and FOX all acknowledged the event and did so in a very respectable way. They should be commended. Even the slightest choice of wrong words could hurt many people. 

Each network interviewed Giants head coach Tom Coughlin about how his team wanted to remember all the victims with a moment of silence and initials imprinted on their shoes. The networks were respectful of the emotions involved with this tragedy.

At halftime during Sunday Night Football, I wondered if Bob Costas would use the events in Newtown as another stage to address the issue of gun control. Just a few weeks ago, Costas was heavily criticized for his feature on gun control in the wake of Jovan Belcher’s suicide.

This Sunday, Costas instead chose to discuss another topic and avoided any political issues.

NBC also decided to cut into the first quarter of Sunday night’s game to televise President Obama’s speech at the prayer vigil being held in Newtown. This was a classy and respectable move by the network. It demonstrated how sports should be in the back of viewers’ minds right now and instead focused on showing respect for this tragedy.

Reilly’s coverage of Belcher suicide ‘powerful’ and ‘appropriate‘

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BY STEVEN KUBITZA

Rick Reilly is often criticized for the tone in which he chooses to write, not to mention for his giant contract with ESPN.

Even with his polarizing style he has won countless awards. He proved why with his latest article on ESPN.com titled, “When ‘help’ is the hardest word.”

His article was written in response to the tragic death of Jovan Belcher, who took his own life on the morning of Dec.1 Belcher killed himself in front of members of the Kansas City Chiefs’ coaching and front office staff.

Reilly focused on Brady Quinn and how he has already lost two teammates to suicide in his short NFL career. Along with Belcher, Quinn lost teammate Kenny McKinley in 2010 when he was a member of the Denver Broncos.

Suicide is a sensitive and personal topic, but Reilly did an appropriate job and summed up the comments made by Quinn after the Chiefs’ win on Dec. 2. Reilly said we never know how someone is doing or if they need to talk to someone about their issues.

It is tough to pry this personal information from people, even if we find them to be close friends.

Reilly relates Quinn’s situation with his own, as he lost a friend to suicide just a few years ago. This story led to Reilly’s most powerful statement in the entire article.

“Are we our brother’s keeper? Our teammate’s? Our colleague’s? Do we have a duty to help people even when they’re not asking?”

Suicide is, unfortunately, something we must deal with in our society, including the sporting world.

Herbstreit’s attack on NIU ‘baseless’

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BY ANTHONY ALFORD

Kirk Herbstreit is one of the most respected analysts in college football and he has proven to be an unbiased commentator. This is why I was shocked he trashed the BCS system for allowing Northern Illinois, from the Mid-American Conference, to play in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. To say I was disappointed by his reaction would be a complete understatement.

“The fact that Northern Illinois is in the BCS in 2012 is really a sad state for college football and where we are with the current system,” Herbstreit said.

How is it sad that Northern Illinois is in the BCS? Is it sad for ESPN because ratings won’t be as high as it would be with a team from a power conference? Is Herbstreit assuming fans do not like teams from mid-major conferences to pull off upsets against teams from power conferences? If that is the case, he must have been asleep during Boise State’s upset against Oklahoma.

“They [Northern Illinois] don’t deserve to be in the BCS this year,” he continued.

This is where Herbstreit’s argument becomes baseless. This was not a football decision.

By rule, if a team from a non-BCS conference makes the top 16 in the final BCS poll and they are ranked higher than a BCS conference champion, they are in no matter what. This rule was put in place so the BCS would avoid an Anti-Trust lawsuit. Northern Illinois was ranked ahead of two BCS conference champions.

It just so happens Northern Illinois also won a conference entering seven teams into bowl games. That is the third highest in college football and highest among non-BCS conferences. It is not Northern Illinois’ fault Louisville plays in the free-falling Big East conference, nor is it their fault Nebraska horrifically lost in the Big Ten Championship game to a team only playing because Ohio State and Penn State were not eligible.

I understand analysts are paid to express their opinions about what is going on in their sports. If they want to say Northern Illinois has no chance of winning because Florida State is a superior team, then fine. If they want to say that the Huskies do not have as good of a team as Utah, TCU, and Boise State when they made the BCS that would be a valid point.

But to completely dismiss the rules in place and to just to bash a team is just wrong and unfair. It is wrong and unfair to the Northern Illinois team, which worked hard to be in this position. It is wrong for their students and fans that have supported this team throughout the entire season. It is also wrong and unfair to those teams in the MAC conference like Bowling Green, Kent State, and Toledo, among others, who have competed in one of the most competitive conferences in college football this season. But most importantly, it is wrong and unfair to the viewers of ESPN to use the airwaves to slam a team that earned a spot in the BCS by rule just because the usual favorites from the power conference teams did not get in.

Herbstreit has the responsibility to viewers to offer his opinion in a fair, unbalanced way. For years, he has done just that. But on the night of the BCS selection show, Herbstreit blew his opportunity. If Northern Illinois beats Florida State, he will be eating his words in front of a national audience.