The Obligatory Manti Te'o Discussion Post/Open Thread

So, even after having almost 24 hours to digest this entire thing. . .it still isn't any less weird than it was yesterday.

In case you missed it, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o made a statement yesterday saying that his former girlfriend. . .a woman named Lennay Keuka who was reported to have died within hours of Te'o's grandmother passing away in September. . .never really existed. This is because Te'o's relationship with the Keuka was, apparently, online only.

The story of two people in Te'o's life passing away in such a short time frame is, at least in part, what launched him into the national spotlight. . .a spotlight that saw him finish runner-up to Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in the race for the 2012 Heisman Trophy. Now, it turns out that it was a lie.

Some people are saying that Te'o was the victim of a hoax. . .some people are saying that Te'o was in on said hoax. And, just in case things aren't weird enough for you yet, current Arizona Cardinals' fullback Reagan Maui'a says that not only was Keuka a real person, but he once met her.

Honestly, this might even be too weird for Hunter S. Thompson. . .and nothing was too weird for that guy.

What do you all think? Do you think that Te'o was duped? Do you think he used this to get publicity for himself? Does this affect your viewpoint of him? And, hey. . .if he were to somehow drop to #23 in the first round of the NFL Draft, do you want the Minnesota Vikings anywhere near him?

Talk about all of that here. . .we'll try to keep the Te'o talk in one place, and do try to keep it relatively clean.