As if the Manti Te’o story wasn’t bizarre enough, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick last night cited the documentary film “Catfish” and the MTV show of the same name as a means of explaining how the hoax on the linebacker was perpetrated.
“Catfish” centers on a young man or woman who is tricked into falling for a fictitious person on the Internet.
Swarbrick described Te’o’s relationship as textbook Catfish — a new relationship online, a subsequent trauma (such as a car accident) and then a death. He said Te’o became entangled in an evolving
drama that involved a growing cast of characters, including friends and family members of the fictional girlfriend.
“The pain was real. The grief was real. The affection was real. That’s the nature of this sad, cruel game,” Swarbrick said.
