Speculation has run rampant regarding the Manti Te’o – fake girlfriend saga.
Several national media outlets, including the Huffington Post, speculated Thursday that Te’o was gay and that the online hoax was an elaborate way for either a jilted lover to get back at him or for Te’o to protect his image as a straight athlete.
Te’o would be the most famous athlete in modern history to reveal that he was gay. Former NBA player John Amaechi announced he was gay in February of 2007, but only when his playing career was coming to an end.
Amaechi told ESPN that year that a stigma most definitely still existed in sports regarding gay athletes and that many have great reservations about coming out.
“It’s a frightening prospect. It’s terrifying,” Amaechi said. “There are people for whom their entire world is based around this idea that people will look at them — and when they look at them, they are NBA superstars, NBA players. And any change to that would be physiologically devastating. Emotionally devastating, financially devastating.”
It would be in Te’o’s best interest to end all speculation immediately, but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that the footballer will speak Thursday. According to Blacksportsonline.com, Te’o cancelled a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.
