![]() The article went on to say: “When he woke up in the morning, his phone would show an eight-hour call, and he would hear Lennay breathing on the other end of the line. And during the long recovery from the crash, it was discovered that she had leukemia, which ultimately caused her death, according to the article.Ī Sports Illustrated article in October told more of the story, reporting that in the months leading up to her death, Te’o “developed a nightly ritual in which he would go to sleep while on the phone.” It was around the time the two became a couple, the article said, that Kekua was injured in a serious car crash. ![]() “And we came to the realization that she could be our daughter-in-law,” Brian Te’o was quoted as saying. Te’o’s father, Brian, was quoted in the article as saying that, every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, when his son happened to be home, “so he would meet with her there.” He said they started as friends but had become a couple within the past year. “Lennay Kekua was a Stanford student and Cardinal football fan when the two exchanged glances, handshakes and phone numbers that fateful weekend three seasons ago,” the article said. “There was too much online chatter about it.” Swarbrick said there was no attempt to conceal the story. “I think whenever you’re in football, it takes your mind off a lot of things,” he said, not mentioning the girlfriend. game, Te’o was asked about how the commotion and excitement of the football season helped him cope with the deaths of his girlfriend and his grandmother. Te’o was Notre Dame’s standout player, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy balloting and leading the Irish to an unexpected berth in the national title game. ![]() Swarbrick said it was his understanding that, until the Deadspin article, Te’o and his family planned to make a public statement about the situation next week. Neither corrected the record until the Deadspin article was published Wednesday. It was clear, however, that both Te’o and the university were well aware of the situation during the onslaught of news media coverage during the lead-up to the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. Much remains unclear about whether Te’o was duped or whether he somehow perpetrated the fictitious story of having a girlfriend who died in September, during the season. 26, Swarbrick said, at which point Notre Dame asked an independent investigative company to look into the matter. ![]() Te’o and his family told the university about the situation on Dec. The voice on the phone was one he had believed to be hers, Swarbrick said, and the person was telling Te’o that she was not dead. At a news conference Wednesday night, Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame’s athletic director, said Te’o received a phone call in early December from a number that he thought to be Kekua’s. ![]()
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