Manti Te'o's Sexuality Is Prime Area of Interest for NFL Teams Scouting Linebacker

We knew there might be some fallout from Manti Te’o‘s Lennay Kekua saga, and it looks like it’s playing out at the NFL Scouting Combine.

While many figured teams would be curious about Te’o’s character, since he admitted to lying about the relationship in interviews, that’s apparently not the case. As NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reports, teams are more interested in knowing whether or not the former Notre Dame star is gay.

“Here’s the elephant in the room for the teams, and it shouldn’t matter, but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL,” Florio told The Dan Patrick Show. “Teams want to know whether Manti Te’o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it’s a different world. It shouldn’t be that way.”

For the record, Te’o participated in about 20 one-on-one interviews during his time at the combine. Likewise, it’s doubtful any of those teams asked him that question outright, given the fallout that occurred after the Dolphins asked Dez Bryant in 2010 if his mother had ever been a prostitute.

Florio, for his part, insists that the issue has become an “elephant in the room,” and that although if Te’o were gay it wouldn’t necessarily dissuade a team from drafting him, they’d like to know before potentially drafting him.

“Tony Dungy makes a great point on this. If the NFL were ready for an openly gay player, there would be an openly gay player,” said Florio. “Nobody knows better the feel of an NFL locker room than someone who’s in it.

“I’m not saying anyone would take Manti Te’o off the board if they suspected he’s gay or know he’s gay. That’s just the thing that’s out there that they want to know the answer to.”

Photo of the Night

Documentary filmmaker, and now Oscar-winner, Sean Fine sported these RGIII-themed socks at the Academy Awards on Sunday night.

Photo via Twitter/@adidasUSPRGuy

Quote of the Night

“You guys know that I would have tons of interest to go to New York. But I just don’t think they would be interested. I’m not exactly sure what happened over the years or something. They have had plenty of opportunities and I kept raising my hand, wanting to go back and, you know, hopefully it would be a perfect fit. It always had been. Have me for six weeks and then send me off on my merry way. That’s fine.”
–Johnny Damon practically begging to play baseball again in the wake of Curtis Granderson’s injury