Manti Te'o hoax: Reagan Maui'a also fooled by Lennay Kekua

Mike Ehrmann

As more details emerge concerning Manti Te'o and his hoaxed girlfriend, it would appear that he was not the only athlete fooled into thinking Lennay Kekua existed.

As the story surrounding Manti Te'o and the hoax surrounding his supposedly deceased girlfriend continues to unravel, it appears that Te'o wasn't the only athlete fooled by someone claiming to be Lennay Kekua.

NFL fullback Reagan Maui'a revealed Wednesday that he still believes Kekua is real, recounting an in-person meeting at a party for charity workers in Samoa and describing what she looks like. "She was tall," he told ESPN. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model ... "

Maui'a may have met someone that day, but it's no longer clear who that person actually was. And as blogger Erin Weaver discovered Thursday, a close examination of Maui'a's Twitter timeline reveals several mentions of @LennayKay, including a tweet one day after she allegedly died.

About 24hrs ago to the minute, #God called back one of his angels. @lennaykay u will definitely be missed. #IaManuiaLouMalaga, #GodBless
— Reagan Maui'a (@Reagan_Mauia45) September 13, 2012

Maui'a also seemed to think that Kekua was a Stanford alum, which corroborates part of Te'o's story:

My friend @lennaykay who passed 3days ago wld be so proud of her #StanU for beating #USC today.. #SheWasAProudAlumn.. #RestWithChrist Nay..
— Reagan Maui'a (@Reagan_Mauia45) September 16, 2012

What does it mean? It certainly suggests that the person (or people) behind Lennay Kekua went to great lengths to fool multiple people -- and if Te'o wasn't the only athlete to fall victim to the hoax, it's even more believable the Notre Dame star wasn't aware of the deception until very recently.

You can view all of Maui'a's Twitter interactions with @LennayKay at Weaver's blog.