Seriously, at this point, I really don't care about Manti anymore. I don't care if he made up his girlfriend. I don't care if he made up his girlfriend to hide the fact that he's gay (which is an absolutely ridiculous notion - but while I'm on the subject, I was thinking. If that does somehow turn out to be true, I heard people saying that he would be a hero to homosexuals everywhere for being the first active athlete to come out. Call me crazy - and also straight, because I'm coming at this with an outside point of view - but I'd think that if that were the case, he'd be a pariah among the gay community for going to such ludicrous lengths to keep his sexuality a secret. But I digress). I don't care if Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was the mastermind behind the whole thing and Manti was just an incredibly naive dude who was willing to have a yearlong relationship with a girl he'd never even seen over a video chat, let along met in person. About the only reason I care about Manti at the moment is because this was hilarious (at the 2:10 mark). Also this. And the Weekend Update joke that when Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping, he disappointed the only person who had believed otherwise...Manti Te'o. So let's just leave all that behind, and agree on the following point - no matter what actually happened, Manti doesn't come out of this untainted by a long shot. Because everyone thinks he's either the most naive, gullible person ever, or he's a lying scumbag.
No, what I actually wanted to write about was the elder Te'o, Brian. For some insane reason, Te'o Sr. took exception when the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ran the below picture of Manti completely whiffing on a tackle of Eddie Lacy during the BCS National Championship (won by Alabama 42-14), under the headline "Bowled Over."
It's a completely acceptable image accompanied by a completely acceptable headline. Alabama absolutely eviscerated Notre Dame, and Manti had a notably terrible night. The picture and the headline both capture those incontrovertible facts.
And yet, Brian Te'o felt like a great injustice had been done because...well, I'll let you read it in his own words that he posted* on the Manti Te'o "Official" Fan Club on Facebook:
"Our family has been very gracious to the Star Advertiser by providing interviews and photos of our son in the recent weeks. On our way home from Miami we were "privileged" to see how the Star Advertiser returns that favor by posting a photo of our son "presumably" being "bowled over" by the Alabama RB. So, from this point forward, Star Advertiser you have been officially black listed. I will no longer agree to any more interviews, sharing of photos, or anything else, and I will encourage all who have a subscription to your newspaper to not renew. Be more responsible in the future...if you can." Brian Te'o
*The actual post, so far as I can tell, is now down. To be fair, that was two and a half weeks ago, so I'm not exactly on the ball with this one, and it's possible Brian Te'o thought better of publicly displaying his rant. So that's why the link is to Deadspin and not Facebook.
I don't know about you, but my reaction to this was twofold. First of all, what a ridiculous complaint to have - your son's team got blown out, he didn't play well and the picture accurately represents those things. What was the paper supposed to run? A picture of one of Te'o's three solo tackles and a headline that said "Good job, good effort"? Give me a break.
Secondly, and more importantly from my viewpoint, a newspaper can run whatever they please if they deem it to be worthy of use. They're not in the business of catering to subscribers that think they're owed something because they "provided interviews and photos." That's actually quite troubling to me, this notion that because the Te'os were so "gracious" to the Star-Advertiser, they deserved preferential treatment. Newsflash - no you don't. That's not how it works. The media business is not a quid pro quo-type thing, and while you certainly have the right to turn down interviews/withhold pictures/etc., doing so because you're whining about not receiving good press in return for your "generosity" is a pretty weak reason. I really hope Brian Te'o is in the minority with that viewpoint, because if he's not - oh boy do we in the media have a problem on our hands.
At least Manti has one thing going for him, however - he's not an emu.
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