Manti Te’o when asked if he’s gay: ‘No, far from it’

One of the theories that has arisen from the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax mess is that Te’o is gay. There are a number of people who believe that Te’o helped perpetuate the Lennay Kekua story in order to prove he is a heterosexual.

During her interview with Te’o that aired on Thursday, Katie Couric asked about the linebacker’s sexual preference. Te’o did a poor job of answering the question.

“No, far from it,” Te’o said emphatically when Couric asked him if he was gay. “Far from it.”

Te’o seemed more animated in answering that question than most of the other questions he was asked during the segment. Prior to that, he was subdued when answering questions about being the most naive person on earth and a liar. Can you be “far from” a homosexual? To my knowledge, you are either gay or you’re not. The way Te’o answered the question, you would swear he was asked something like “Are you a violent person?”

The answer spoke volumes to how far the sport of football is from being ready to deal with an openly gay player. Te’o is already concerned about his NFL Draft status, and he almost undoubtedly was taken aback by the question because he knows how difficult it would be to be gay in an NFL locker room.

Are we saying Te’o is gay? Absolutely not, but the way he answered the question was enough to make you cringe. Several NFL players have already said they would accept a gay teammate, but it seemed obvious that Te’o doesn’t believe that. Otherwise, he would have answered that question as calmly as he answered the rest.