Having had his personal life dragged through the national talk show circuit and turned into a punch line by every two-bit comedian, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o didn’t want to rehash it Saturday.
After an appearance in the media room that was delayed by two hours, Te’o tried to put the whole fake dead girlfriend thing behind him.
“The incident, I said all I need to say about that,” he said, after joking about the number of cameras that ringed his podium. “I’m focusing on football and the combine.”
Good luck with that.
He said of all the teams he’s interviewed with, none have failed to ask about the catfishing incident.
“They want to hear from me what the truth was,” he said. “They haven’t said anything about it affecting me.”
He said the questions usually take up 30 seconds, then “the next 14 minutes plays and getting down to business.”
He’s trying to keep the topic at arm’s length as best he can, but this this isn’t five minutes old and it’s already less than comfortable. He’s handling it as well as possible, but he’s obviously been coached up by a crisis-management team.