Sometimes you need to laugh at yourself, and Manti Te’o did just that.
The former Notre Dame football player and Heisman Trophy candidate has become one of the faces of the football world due to his off-field incidents.
He learned that his girlfriend and grandmother had died within 24 hours of each other.
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Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish player Manti Te’o waves to fans during the second half of a game against the California Golden Bears at Notre Dame Stadium on September 17, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
However, he later learned that his girlfriend, Renaï Kekua, never actually existed.
Eventually, Te’o discovered he’d been catfished: He’d been in contact online with a man posing as Kekua.
The story has taken on a unique twist, and the incident was recently featured in a Netflix documentary.
So he joked about it during his NFL Network debut this week.
Former Notre Dame player Manti Te’o enters the stadium before the Notre Dame vs. Cal game on Sept. 17, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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“I haven’t Googled myself since 2013 for obvious reasons.” Theo saidThis elicited laughter from his co-stars.
Theo wants to rewrite his story a little bit.
“A lot of people from all over the world have contacted me and said, ‘Hey, listen, your story really impacted me,'” Teo said on the broadcast. “So it gave me a responsibility to say… Not everyone knows the truth, not everyone has seen the documentary. So what good can I do? Well, to do any good, I have to have a voice that people listen to.”
“And what a great opportunity that NFL Network has given me is to be in front of the camera again with my NFL Network family, my ‘Good Morning Football’ family, where I can add value and add value to myself and grow my family.”
Manti Te’o of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish encourages the crowd during a game against the BYU Cougars at Notre Dame Stadium on October 20, 2012 in South Bend, Indiana. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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Te’o was a second-round draft pick in 2013 and played eight seasons with the Chargers, Saints and Bears.
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