Woman in Te’o fake girlfriend photo speaks out
The woman whose photo was used as the “face” of the Twitter account of Manti Te’o’s supposed girlfriend says the man allegedly behind the hoax confessed and apologized to her.
Diane O’Meara told NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua. Te’o asserts he was tricked into an online romance with Kekua and, until last week, did not understand he was being hoaxed.
O’Meara went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they’re not close. He called to apologize Jan. 16, the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.
“I don’t think there’s anything he could say to me that would fix this,” said O’Meara, a 23-year-old marketing executive in Los Angeles.
O’Meara said she had never had any contact with Te’o, and that for five years, Tuiasosopo “has literally been stalking my Facebook and stealing my photos.”
MARINERS TO INDUCT GRIFFEY INTO TEAM HALL OF FAME
Ken Griffey Jr. will be inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame as its seventh member.
Griffey’s ceremony will take place Aug. 10 before the Mariners face the Milwaukee Brewers.
Griffey spent 13 of his 22 seasons in the majors with the Mariners. He was drafted by Seattle in 1987, made his debut at the major league level two years later and went on to have one of the finest careers in baseball history. Griffey finished with 630 home runs — sixth all-time — and was a 13-time All-Star and the 1997 American League MVP.
After time in Cincinnati and Chicago, Griffey returned to Seattle in 2009-10, his final game coming on June, 2, 2010.
Griffey has spent the past two seasons as a special consultant to the franchise.
BRIEFLY
Tampa Bay agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Jamey Wright, a former Westmoore standout. ... Mike Napoli signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox after a multiyear deal fell through because of health concerns. ... Reliever Jason Motte and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a $12 million, two-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.