Manti Te'o jokes about infamous catfish incident

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself, and that's exactly what Manti Te'o did.

The former Notre Dame football standout was a Heisman Trophy candidate and became one of the faces of football because of a story off the field.

He had learned that his girlfriend and his grandmother had died within 24 hours of each other.

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However, he later learned that his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, never existed.

Eventually, Te'o discovered that he had been the victim of a catfishing attack. Instead, he had been communicating with a man who was posing as Kekua in an online relationship.

The story took on a life of its own and the incident was recently featured in a Netflix documentary.

When he made his NFL Network debut this week, he joked about it.

Former Notre Dame player Manti Te'o enters the stadium before a game between Notre Dame and California in South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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“I haven't Googled myself since 2013, for obvious reasons,” Te'o said, drawing laughter from his co-hosts.

Te'o hopes to rewrite his story a little.

“So many people around the world have reached out to me and said, 'Hey, listen, your story really touched me,'” Te'o said on the show. “That gives me a responsibility to say… not everyone knows the truth. Not everyone has seen the documentary. So what good can I do? Well, to do good, you have to have a voice that people listen to.

“And what a great opportunity NFL Network has given me to be back in front of the camera with my NFL Network family, the 'Good Morning Football' family. I can add value that also adds value to me and grows my family.”

Manti T'eo of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish encourages the crowd to cheer against the BYU Cougars on October 20, 2012 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Te'o was selected in the second round in 2013 and played eight seasons with the Chargers, Saints and Bears.

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