"The brutally unsentimental retelling of the Manti Te'o story feels like an open wound, a cautionary tale that teaches an unfortunate lesson: Trust is dangerous.
Yet some of the speculative detritus was swept away Friday night when Te'o sat down with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap for a 2½-hour, off-camera interview. The sprawling dialogue answered many questions but made the shocking turn of events no less dumbfounding.
What did seem to emerge is that Te'o was not complicit in the hoax that created a fake girlfriend for him so she could die a fake death and inspire Te'o and others who heard the fake story."