Manti Te’o, former linebacker in the NFL and college standout at Notre Dame, revealed on Thursday’s edition of Good Morning Football that he is joining NFL Network. Te’o played eight seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears where he stood out on defense and contributed to winning.
Towards the end of his college career, Te’o was the subject of a catfishing incident where a purported girl to whom he was speaking online never existed. The relationship was exclusively online, but when Te’o was informed that his girlfriend allegedly died of leukemia, it inspired him to play better. It turns out that someone fabricated the identity of the person and conspired with other people to cause Te’o to think that what he was being told was true.
Since he last played in the NFL, Te’o has been involved in entrepreneurial and private equity ventures while also raising his daughter. Within his remarks, he acknowledged that it was a different realm and a full-time job for him over the last several years. Te’o discussed his emotions towards a Netflix documentary that told his story, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, and how it provided him an impetus to explore opportunities in the media space. Kyle Brandt, co-host of Good Morning Football, asked Te’o what he would like people who may not be aware of his story or did not see the documentary to know about him and his life.
“What I would like them to know, Kyle, is there’s so many different parts to a story, and I think in a day and age where there’s so much information out there and it’s coming at you at rapid speeds, to sometimes take a moment to step back, look at those sides, look at those stories, look at where it’s coming from, vet those sources and then come up with what you feel is the truth,” Te’o said. “I personally would love if somebody was saying a story about somebody else, you go to that source itself. I wouldn’t take any information from people that are telling you things about something that happened to somebody else.”
Moving into the sports media space by joining NFL Network is a platform Te’o feels will give him a platform to disseminate his thoughts and opinions that people want to hear. It is a responsibility that he does not take lightly and something for which he is extremely grateful.
Akbar Gbajabiamila, a former NFL defensive end who recently joined Good Morning Football upon its relaunch in Los Angeles, recalled first connecting with Te’o in Fiji after watching the documentary and being in tears. Gbajabiamila informed Te’o via Instagram about how the story resonated with him, a dispatch that meant a lot at a time when he was met with a deluge of negativity. This led Te’o to emphasize viewers to compliment other people even if they have a reservation of overstepping their bounds.
“It’s very big of you then to take your life in a direction to sit at this table, and frankly, at the direction of reopening a scar that is probably still very sensitive to you in an era where we are valuing athlete mental health now more than ever,” host Jamie Erdahl said. “Is that why you come to a table like this?… I’m surprised you don’t hold resentment towards what the media machine did to you.”
In response to Erdahl, Te’o elucidated that his parents taught him to use his platform for good and make a positive impact on the world. While he recognizes that he is not perfect, he aims to share his love of football and fantasy football with the viewers. At the same time, he received messages from many people around the world after the documentary who told them its impact and how it helped them through difficult times.
“Well, in order for you to do any type of good, you have to have a voice that people will listen to, and what a great opportunity that NFL Network has given me to be on camera with, again, my NFL Network family, the Good Morning Football family, where I can be able to add some value and also have value added to me and grow my family,” Te’o said. “So I’m just here to spread as much positivity as I can [and] to bring good energy.”
