Notre Dame A.D. Jack Swarbrick removed the “say nothing” option for linebacker Manti Te’o by telling reporters on Wednesday night that Te’o will soon address (with something more than the prepared statement he already has issued) the elaborate hoax that he claimed was perpetrated on him.
So the question now become when will Te’o say something -- and to whom will he say it?
Multiple reports on Thursday morning indicated that Te’o will be interviewed by Jeremy Schaap of ESPN. Multiple subsequent reports on Thursday morning indicate that the Schaap interview has been scrapped.
(Hello, Oprah.)
Here’s hoping that when Te’o tells his story, the questions are posed by someone who will speak for the public at large regarding the questions, the skepticism, and the inconsistencies -- most notably, the issue of whether Te’o had ever “met” in person the girl who never existed. The manner in which the story has been handled to date has caused many to believe that he had a role in the hoax, even if he simply went along with something he didn’t initiate.
So if Te’o wants to remove all doubt, he needs to submit to an interview that gives him an opportunity not to swing at slo-pitch softballs but to knock high heat out of the park.