Manti Te'o lied about his Girlfriend dying

[Mr. Scot]

While I don't think he'll get undrafted...he may fall quite a bit. There's going to be some team out there that needs a MLB and would be happy to overlook his personal issues to utilize his talents. It will definitely be a team with a weak FO, terrible defense, and willing to absorb his baggage. Jets certainly fit the MO of a circus but I don't think they need a MLB. Raiders might be an interesting spot for him, especially their issue with Rolando McClain.

Without a doubt, Alec Ogletree has shot up the MLB board, though. Te'o will fall...

Raiders, Jets, Bengals...the kind of team that's okay with their locker room looking like The Jerry Springer Show.

I could even see a scenario with the Patriots given that a lot of the media treats them like gods who cannot ever be questioned on their actions.

[Johnny Rockets]

I'd agree.

His story has too many holes (the whole receiving a letter from her weeks after she died thing, among others).

Plus you know teams are going to grill him mercilessly at Combine interviews. He's already shown he's not exactly the world's most accomplished liar. And if he tells a blatant lie in one of those interviews, there's a pretty good chance the press will get hold of it.

Care to place a friendly wager of sorts that he still goes in the first round? I would make that bet even without knowing the true story yet....come on, would make the way this turns out and the draft slightly more interesting.

[NanceUSMC]

Oh, I think it's possible.

Like I said before, in order to draft him, you have to believe that he's such a phenomenal player and that he brings so much value to your team that he's worth the scrutiny, the stigma, the insanity and the distraction that having him around will inevitably bring to your locker room.

Is he really that good a player? I'm skeptical.

If he's drafted, it won't be by any team that factors character into their draft board. It'll likely have to be a team with a "who gives a s--t" attitude like the Jets. That locker room is already a circus anyway. What's one more elephant act?

So yeah, he may not get passed over entirely, but I'd be willing to bet a fair number of teams will take him completely off their draft boards.

Yes, a fair number of teams will potentially eliminate him from their draft boards... I agree with you there... And while I agree that character should play a large part in the evaluation of a player, the truth is for many teams it simply doesn't... He will likely see his draft stock fall, but I don't believe it will be the massive free-fall some are predicting... I think much of this thread is reacting too quickly to the information that is currently available, without knowing the complete story... It may not be as bad as it's being portrayed, and it may be worse...

When guys like Lawrence Phillips, Adam Jones, Matt Jones, etc are still drafted in the first round based on talent, I cannot see this dropping Te'o (who has had no other character issues) nearly as significantly as some are suggesting...

[Scrumtrilescent]

2nd round at the least...he was already dropping anyway.

[CPF4LIFE]

I'm starting to think Manti was milking this relationship in order to gain media attention. Other students are coming out and saying he had relations with girl on campus. So obviously, if true, he wasn't "in love" with this Lennay girl. But while he was duping us, he had no idea he was being duped.

A dupe within a dupe.

Dupeception.

LOLL!!! Huh??! Man.......this poo is just too crazy. I feel like im wasting my life trying to understand it.

[Mr. Scot]

Care to place a friendly wager of sorts that he still goes in the first round? I would make that bet even without knowing the true story yet....come on, would make the way this turns out and the draft slightly more interesting.

I already said the perfect end to this story would be his going first round to the Jets :lol:

Philosophically speaking, I put him in the same category as Tony Washington. Despite a strong combine and rising stock, once the story on him and his sister came out, nobody was gonna take a chance on that guy.

But yeah, I acknowledge Te'o could be drafted, most likely by one of the teams mentioned above.

Personally, I don't think he's a good enough player to be worth the distraction that'll follow him, but someone like Rex Ryan might differ.

[Johnny Rockets]

2nd round at the least...he was already dropping anyway.

His performance in the Championship game hurt his stock more than this story will.

[Mr. Scot]

Yes, a fair number of teams will potentially eliminate him from their draft boards... I agree with you there... And while I agree that character should play a large part in the evaluation of a player, the truth is for many teams it simply doesn't... He will likely see his draft stock fall, but I don't believe it will be the massive free-fall some are predicting... I think much of this thread is reacting too quickly to the information that is currently available, without knowing the complete story... It may not be as bad as it's being portrayed, and it may be worse...

When guys like Lawrence Phillips, Adam Jones, Matt Jones, etc are still drafted in the first round based on talent, I cannot see this dropping Te'o (who has had no other character issues) nearly as significantly as some are suggesting...

Valid, though worth remembering that those guys were busts (you could argue for Pacman, though not with the team that drafted him).

You'd like to think people learn, but I've lived long enough to know that they often don't.

[Cary Kollins]

Lol at people saying this is a boring story or it doesn't matter. This was the lead story on the freaking BBC. This will go down as one of the most bizarre sport scandals of all time.

[Mr. Scot]

Word now that Te'o cancelled his ESPN interview.

Manti Te'o interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap reportedly canceled

Needed more time to get his story straight?

[TheRumGone]

KKEEEEEERPPPPPLLLLUNNNNKKKK (the sound of te'o's draft stock

[Cary Kollins]

His next move is to just come clean. Air it all out. That is the only way he can move forward.

[DirtyMagic97]

Could it be possible that Tuiasosopo could be behind everything and playing these dumbass athletes to somehow extort money/etc. from once they hit the NFL?

That's a heck of a niche market.

[TylerVagyler]

Now John Clayton si saying this isn't a character issue.

How???

Even if he was the victim, this speaks about how poor his judgement is.