1. Manti is extremely gullible and totally innocent, the victim of a cruel "catfishing" hoax perpetrated by a group of acquaintances.
2. Manti cynically masterminded a sick PR stunt in order to boost his profile and Heismann chances.
3. Manti is a closeted gay in a relationship with the guy behind the fake girlfriend who used this as a ploy to hide his sexuality.
4. Some combination of the above.
I think it's 4. My hypothesis is that Manti had a fairly shallow online relationship with the "girlfriend,"--actually some buddies jerking his chain--which is why he didn't realize she was fake. The media gets wind of a heart-rending story and runs with it. Suddenly, the dying girlfriend angle is working in Manti's favor and he has a reason to be a willing dupe and embellish, even if he suspected it was a hoax. The media of course wants a good tale and has plenty of motive to embellish and not investigate deeply. The gay closet-case angle is juicy, but it's known Manti had other real-life girlfriends so it doesn't seem like he would need to make one up expressly as a cover. By the way, Deadspin, the blog that broke the hoax story, is run by a bunch bitter Gawker Media types who have their own axe to grind. I must admit I'm basing this theory partly on stereotypes of Samoans as typically unsophisticated.
If Te’o is that gullible then he should be the next contestant on the Joe Schmo Show.
If Te’o is that gullible then he should be the next contestant on the Joe Schmo Show.