Maybe Te'o really was duped, or maybe he had a hand in perpetrating the Kekua myth. Either way, Notre Dame's vocal support for its star contrasts sharply with its relative silence on reported sex assaults by football players.
Te'o was a sophomore on August 31, 2010, when Lizzy Seeberg, a freshman at St Mary's College, a university across the street from Notre Dame, reported that she was sexually assaulted by a Notre Dame football player. In the stressful aftermath of the assault, which included coercion from the player's friend – "Don't do anything you would regret," the friend texted Seeberg – Seeberg took an overdose of depression and anxiety medication and died eight days later.
The most comprehensive coverage on sex assault cases at Notre Dame has come from Melinda Henneberger, who covered the school's response to Seeberg's case for the National Catholic Reporter and then provided further commentary for the Washington Post. In the course of her reporting, she was denied access to Notre Dame officials, and found out that Seeberg's family was, too.
According to the Seebergs, Notre Dame police said they weren't sure when they'd have time to follow up on the case. "They said they were pretty busy," Mary Seeberg said, "because it's football season and there's a lot of underage drinking."
And there was another young woman. She was a freshman when she reported being raped by a football player at a party. Henneberger reported that after the woman endured the same coercion that Seeberg faced, she dropped the report. She lived, and the player continued to play the field.
As in many football communities, when Notre Dame does well, the money flows in: not just to the school, but to the towns outside the stadium gates. In South Bend, when the football team is winning – when 80,000 people buy tickets to sit and drink and watch football in the shadow of "Touchdown Jesus" – the otherwise blighted local economy basks in the glow of $10 million spent locally each home game. When wins are fewer, times are leaner.
But fandom – and access to lore – is always accessible whether times are good or bad. So when scandal hits, communities tend to favor the institution over the individual. It's why Penn State fans welcomed coach Bill O'Brien back with a standing ovation. It's why University of Texas officials are comfortable enough to return two players accused of sexual assault to the roster even as police say the investigation continues. And it's why a football community and police department in Ohio are co-battling a media storm around allegations both worked together to tamp down reports of rape at the hands of two star players.
A hoaxing isn't anything like sex assault accusations, but that's the whole point. Regardless of whether or not Manti Te'o was fooled, and regardless of what Notre Dame officials have to say, in the end, no one will get hurt but those who lied and those who protected liars.
The opposite is true for the women who reported assault and those who have been denied access to the truth afterwards.
