Besides releasing a statement shortly after Deadspin published a report detailing how Manti Te'o's deceased girlfriend never actually existed, the Notre Dame linebacker has kept silent. Te'o's uncle, however, was anything but silent when he went on the radio and targeted Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the alleged mastermind behind the hoax, accusing him of being a liar.
Alema Te’o went on 97.5 The Zone in Salt Lake City on Thursday and pointed the finger at Tuiasosopo, accusing him of using a girl to pretend to be the nonexistent girlfriend of Te'o, Lennay Kekua.
"I can't help but believe that that was all part of it. The gentleman in question right now Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, I believe it was an elaborate plan that he actually had a girl staged to be Lennay and sent her out there. Or made arrangements that she could be out there. I wouldn't put it past this guy to do that," Alema said when asked about Te'o's father claiming that he met her.
Te'o's uncle also went into detail about the time he met Tuiasosopo in Southern California for the USC-Notre Dame game days after Thanksgiving. Alema accused Ronaiah of introducing a 9-year-old girl as Kekua's cousin, when she actually was his own little sister. Alema also claimed that Tuiasosopo lied about his involvement in Troy Polamalu’s football camp, in which he himself was a part of. Later, Te'o's uncle claimed that Tuiasosopo said he was trying to raise money for leukemia victims.
"All the while this guy is talking about this, I'm saying to myself, this guy is just trying to get close to Manti. So he can get an endorsement, or plant some seeds for some things down in the future. Or get Manti to come to the events. Or boost up any kind of revenue they could get. I had a bad feeling about this guy.
"His big deal was raising money. So I can’t help but think that this guy wanted to get close to Manti to help him get money," said Alema.
Listen to the entire segment here.
Deadspin reported that people close to Tuiasosopo said he was the one who created Kekua and that Te'o wasn't the first person to have an online relationship with her. Deadspin also cited a friend of Tuiasosopo saying that he was "80 percent" sure Te'o was "in on" the hoax. Alema refuted that claim.
While Tuiasosopo has been even more silent than Te'o, his father Titus, the pastor at the Oasis Christian Church of the Antelope Valley, posted a message on his Facebook page thanking those for their support.