Death of Notre Dame Stars Girlfriend A Hoax

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o lead the Fighting Irish to the BCS championship during an emotional season. In the fall of 2012 it was reported that Te'o lost his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day, leading to an outpouring national support for the star linebacker. Today Te'o admitted his girlfriend did not exist and he claims to have been duped by a hoax. 

The Heisman trophy runner-up claims he met a girl online last year that turned out not to be real. In a statement released earlier today Te'o said "This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her." Te'o denies having any involvement in the hoax. Check out the evidence collected from Deadspin, the website that broke the story today here.