He sure isn’t the first college student to have a fake
girlfriend, but Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o most definitely is the most famous.
Early this week, I got a text message saying that the
girlfriend of Te’o, who had supposedly died early during the football season,
was actually a hoax. I couldn’t believe it. The person who had served as an
inspiration to the biggest story in college football this year was non-existent?
As the story developed, the blame game became a tornado of
suspicion. Many believed that Te’o had been involved, looking for a big story
to help boost his publicity. Others believed him when he said that he was the victim
of a horrible scheme to try to make him look bad. Either way, it was a horrible
example of just how messed up the world can be sometimes.
The first question that should be on everyone’s mind is what
exactly was the definition of this relationship. Te’o admits that he never
really met this girl, that their relationship was occurring strictly online. It
was then revealed that all of the social media attributed to this individual
were taken from some other source, another individual who was literally “the
face” of the hoax. If this relationship was one in which he never really met
nor had any in-person communication, why exactly was this a top news story. By
most definitions it was not in any way a serious relationship. Why was it that
when she “died,” it was as if she was his fiancé? That is both a flaw in the relationship styles
today, as well as the media craze that surrounds the personal lives of
athletes.
If that wasn’t enough for a week, Lance Armstrong decided to
talk to Oprah. Of all people, Armostrong’s choice to reveal is steroid use to
Oprah demonstrates yet another publicity stunt, attempting to get as many
headlines as possible both for the cycling star and for the television diva. It
was a rough day, hearing that the American hero who had won seven straight Tour
De France races was a fraud, and that he had, in fact, used steroids during all
of them.
On the other end of the spectrum, the sports world was
saddened to hear that Stan Musial, the great St. Louis Cardinals legend had
passed away at the age of 92. Musial was a man who was known across the
baseball world as a light unto the athletes of today. He conducted himself in a
professional manner, and was considered to be a star not only on the field but
off as well.
Isn’t it fitting, then, that the world lost a clean, good
man the same week that a steroid user and a girlfriend hoax both came to light.
A man who comes from an era when steroids were used to clear up a sinus
infection, not to cheat. A man who
represented his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, for 22 years.
Between the media craze, conspiracy theory, steroid use, and
other insanity of today’s sports world, this was an even more startling
tragedy.
The world is a little worse off without this man in it,
especially at a time where the world could use a hero. It is about time to use
this man’s legacy as a dream, a message, toward living a better life. We expect
better from our athletes. It’s about time we got better once again.
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