Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The father of the man alleged to be behind the Manti Te’o hoax has made a statement regarding the situation. Titus Tuiasosopo, the father of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo — the man believed to be the initiator of the “catfish” scheme — posted on his Facebook account this afternoon in regards to the bizarre story, which has captivated the sports community and the national press in the last 24 hours.
Tuiasosopo called Te’o an “amazing role model” and went on to praise the support his family had received in the wake of the story, while not specifically mentioning his son Ronaiah by name in the course of the Facebook post.
Titus mentions his hope that “it is my hope and prayer that we allow the truth to take its course, wherever that may lead” and that people should “allow this young man (Te’o) to pursue his dream (presumably playing in the NFL) without judgement”.
Tuiasosopo is a local is a pastor at a church in Southern California, and his son has been known to perform with the congregation’s band.
It’s another interesting element in the Te’o story that the family of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo has been vocal in the past hours regarding the situation, while his own family – including his parent — at least at the time of this article, have not been able to be located for comment.
The pressure on the Tuiasosopo family is immense, as it is on the Te’o family, and it’s not surprising they finally made the decision to make a comment, in spite of the fact it doesn’t really change the nature of what we know about what Te’o did or did not do.
Now it’s Manti Te’os turn to tell us all what truly happened to end the conjecture and bring this whole bizarre situation closer to some sort of a resolution.
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Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook
