Will Ronaiah speak? 'Mastermind' of Manti Te'o 'fake dead girlfriend' hoax may tell his side of the story
- Family spokesman says relatives are deciding when and how Ronaiah Tuiasosopo will talk about the prank
- He is believed to be the person who invented the Kennay Kekua persona - the tragic girlfriend of Notre Dame footballer Manti Te'o
The man identified as the hoaxer who invented Notre Dame superstar Manti Te'o's tragic girlfriend may tell his side of the story, a family member said yesterday.
Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, uncle of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, says the family plans to hold a meeting this week to determine when and how his nephew would talk about the bizarre prank.
'We want to do it right,' he said, also noting that the family has hired an attorney. He never directly mentioned the hoax or his nephew being involved.
Mastermind: Ronaiah Tuiasosopo is believed to be the man who invented Lennay Kekua, Te'o's tragic - but fake - girlfriend
Speaking out: The family of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, pictured outside the Rose Bowl in California, is deciding on when and how Ronaiah will tell his story
Duped: Manti Te'o, left, has insisted he had no role in the hoax involving his 'dead' girlfriend and told ESPN on Friday night that he was duped by a person who has since apologized to him
Te'o insisted he had no role in the hoax involving his 'dead' girlfriend and told ESPN on Friday night that he was duped by a person who has since apologized to him.
In an off-camera interview, Te'o identified that person as Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old acquaintance who lives in California.
He said the young man contacted him soon after Deadspin.com broke the news on Wednesday.
The Deadspin story indicated Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was involved, and suggested Te'o was, too.
'We're just a family of faith. The family is holding up well,' Peter Navy Tuiasosopo said. 'They're holding up the way I would expect a family to. This is a storm.'
He made the comments after attending a two-hour service at the Oasis Christian Church, where his brother, who is Ronaiah's father, is pastor.
Dad: Pastor Titus Tuiasosopo, pictured, choked up as he thanked people for their prayers at Oasis Christian Church on Sunday
Titus Tuiasosopo, the father, choked up as he thanked people for their prayers.
'I've been practicing how to say 'no comment' in 20 languages,' the pastor told his congregation. The family has not commented publicly since news of the hoax broke.
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo wasn't seen in attendance, and two church members said he was not there.
Earlier in the day, ABC news announced that Te'o would do his first television interview with Katie Couric.
The interview will air Thursday on Couric's daytime talk show and Te'o's parents will be with him. ABC was not releasing details of when the interview would take place or where.
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o will have his first on-air interview with Katie Couric on Thursday to talk about the alleged hoax of his dead girlfriend.
Facing the truth: Manti Te'o, who has had just one interview since the news broke that his girlfriend was a hoax, will sit down with Katie Couric in a show airing Thursday
Big reveal: Katie Couric announced the big interview via Twitter on Sunday
The highly-anticipated interview will
technically be the second time that Te'o spoke publicly since the
scandal broke, but it will be the first time that he does so on
football player gave had an off-camera interview with ESPN on Friday
night that reportedly lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours, but
only a short clip from that has been released.
He admitted it was 'crazy' that he had a purely online relationship with a girl but denied he was part of the con to gain publicity for his burgeoning football career at the college.
Fake: Pictures depicting 'Lennay Kekua' are actually of a California marketing executive who has never met Te'o
'No. Never,' Te'o said in an interview Friday night with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap, 'I wasn't faking it. I wasn't part of this.'
The Heisman Trophy runner-up said he had an online romance with a woman he never met and in September was informed that the woman died from leukemia.
Te'o told ESPN that the person suspected of being the mastermind of the hoax has contacted him and apologized.
Also, in a story published in Sunday's South Bend Tribune, a Notre Dame spokesman said the university decided against disclosing the hoax before the Irish played Alabama in the BCS championship game on January 7 because it wasn't in the best interest of the teams.
University spokesman Dennis Brown said some school administrators thought they should release what they knew about the hoax when they became aware of it.
Te'o went to coaches and school officials with his story on December 26.
The school commissioned an investigation that it says confirmed Te'o was not involved.
Investigators gave their findings to the school on January 4.
The university officials said the investigators did not examine cellphone records, emails or other electronic communication to determine the length or extent of Te'o's communication over the past few years with the person claiming to be Lennay Kekua, nor did the university ask Te'o to take a lie detector test.
The school informed Te'o's parents about the investigation results on January 5.