I've been hearing and reading some sportswriters, analysts, and even comedians lay claim that the Manti Te'o case fits the bill of a victimless crime.
Assuming for a moment that Te'o only briefly lied about his girlfriend at the Heisman Trophy ceremony because he was embarrassed by his findings two days earlier when receiving a strange phone call from the woman who had pretended to be his girlfriend and who he was told had died of leukemia two months earlier, how would this be a victimless crime?
This college kid thought he had found a special connection with a woman online. They supposedly spent a lot of time communicating, opened up about having feelings for one another, etc. Not long after he was informed of his grandmother dying, he was told that this girlfriend of his had perished from leukemia. Two people he felt extremely close to, to his knowledge, died within a week of each other. Two months later, he received a phone call from the woman who had allegedly died of leukemia. He was then to appear on national television two days later with regard to being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Not until now are all the details starting to be released about the whole ordeal.
A person pranked his/her way to getting close with Te'o, prompting him to develop feelings for "her," only to be heartbroken about news of her demise via leukemia, and to find out a couple months later it was all a lie. Think about how stunned, confused, and emotionally torn apart this 21-year old kid was following all of these events. Who knows how long these events will linger in the mind, heart, and psyche of Te'o - if he'll be able to trust another again, form a tight-knit bond with a person, etc. Given all of that, how in the world was Te'o not a victim?
Also, to a lesser extent, I have to imagine the woman whose photos the main hoaxer used to pursue Te'o has to feel slightly used and victimized as well. The hoaxer was not given permission to use the photos and this woman now finds out that they were used to lie to a famous football player - to reel him into having feelings for her, only to be told that she died of leukemia, before finding out about the hoax a couple months later.
I can even think of a third victim - the American people, whom had to experience the incompetence of ESPN and the rest of the sports media, in reporting this hoax through the duration of the college football season, being told of the story like it was fact, when it obviously wasn't.
Assuming for a moment that Te'o only briefly lied about his girlfriend at the Heisman Trophy ceremony because he was embarrassed by his findings two days earlier when receiving a strange phone call from the woman who had pretended to be his girlfriend and who he was told had died of leukemia two months earlier, how would this be a victimless crime?
This college kid thought he had found a special connection with a woman online. They supposedly spent a lot of time communicating, opened up about having feelings for one another, etc. Not long after he was informed of his grandmother dying, he was told that this girlfriend of his had perished from leukemia. Two people he felt extremely close to, to his knowledge, died within a week of each other. Two months later, he received a phone call from the woman who had allegedly died of leukemia. He was then to appear on national television two days later with regard to being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Not until now are all the details starting to be released about the whole ordeal.
A person pranked his/her way to getting close with Te'o, prompting him to develop feelings for "her," only to be heartbroken about news of her demise via leukemia, and to find out a couple months later it was all a lie. Think about how stunned, confused, and emotionally torn apart this 21-year old kid was following all of these events. Who knows how long these events will linger in the mind, heart, and psyche of Te'o - if he'll be able to trust another again, form a tight-knit bond with a person, etc. Given all of that, how in the world was Te'o not a victim?
Also, to a lesser extent, I have to imagine the woman whose photos the main hoaxer used to pursue Te'o has to feel slightly used and victimized as well. The hoaxer was not given permission to use the photos and this woman now finds out that they were used to lie to a famous football player - to reel him into having feelings for her, only to be told that she died of leukemia, before finding out about the hoax a couple months later.
I can even think of a third victim - the American people, whom had to experience the incompetence of ESPN and the rest of the sports media, in reporting this hoax through the duration of the college football season, being told of the story like it was fact, when it obviously wasn't.
Comments
Post a Comment