The Internet has become a great tool for information gathering and learning. Unfortunately, some of its other uses aren’t quite as beneficial, especially when it comes to social media. Over the last few years, as social media boomed, we’ve seen several athletes who were tricked by people posing as someone (or something) else.
So here’s a look at 10 athletes who were “catfished.”
Manti Te’o
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Manti Te’o
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This is essentially where the whole “catfishing” thing began. Te’o falls for a girl named Lennay Kekua online, who tragically dies from leukemia. The nation feels for him as he emerges as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Then, Deadspin breaks a story stating that Kekua never existed, and was made up. Te’o falls under heavy scrutiny and watches his draft stock plummet. That will always be what he’s known most for.
Robert Griffin III
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Robert Griffin III
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While the whole side-girl situation was going on a few days after Griffin’s wedding, another story broke that someone posing as an “older woman” had some interesting communication with Griffin in an attempt to gain some dirt on him. The dirt included text messages, Twitter conversations and some inappropriate pictures. They ended up selling the information after the successful trick on Griffin.
Paul George
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Paul George
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A gay man, simply known as “Paul,” allegedly sent provocative messages to several athletes while posing as a female with a “big derriere” in hopes of getting one of them to bite. According to reports, George ended up taking the bait, responding with some adult pictures. Although George has since denied his involvement in the scheme, the evidence makes it easy to believe he fell for it.
Kenyon Martin
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Kenyon Martin
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As if getting George to fall for the trick wasn’t enough, “Paul” reportedly got some NSFW pics from Kenyon Martin as well. A “thick white woman” sent some provocative messages Martin’s way, and the former NBA player responded with a few below-the-belt pictures.
Chris Andersen
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Chris Andersen
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This one is rather complicated. So a woman named Shelly Lynn Chartier posed as Andersen online, and communicated with numerous other women, often making sexual demands. One of the victims, who was underage, went to the police, which began an investigation into Andersen. The victim’s mother, who was also being impersonated by Chartier, then tried to extort Andersen. It was a mess.
Four Redskins Players
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Four Redskins Players
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Shortly after the Te’o situation, it came to the public light that four Washington Redskins players had been tricked by a woman with the name “Sidney Ackerman.” Using photos of adult entertainer C.J. Miles, she began sending these players pictures via Twitter and their personal phones. However, failed attempts to meet with her led to the discovery of her illegitimacy.
Michigan Athletes
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Michigan Athletes
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Following the news of the Te'o hoax, (now former) Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon and the Michigan athletic department took it upon themselves to teach Wolverine athletes a lesson. They attempted to lure athletes into joining relationships with fake online girls as a way of proving to the athletes the dangers of social networking. It obviously blew up in their faces and helped lead to Brandon’s resignation.
Houshun Gaines
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Houshun Gaines
Twitter
On October 3, Houshun Gaines, one of North Carolina’s top high school defensive end prospects, committed to Florida after communicating with one of Florida’s assistant coaches over social media. The only problem? The person he was talking to had no affiliation with the school. Gaines has yet to commit, but is expected to choose Virginia Tech after learning the hard way to not trust everyone on social media.
Tony Dungy
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Tony Dungy
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Shortly after Lane Kiffin was fired as the head coach of USC football in 2013, numerous candidates for the job began hearing from school officials about filling the position. However, it wasn’t school officials who were contacting them at all. One of the victims, Tony Dungy, even went on the Dan Patrick Show and talked about being contacted – except he was hearing from people not affiliated with USC.
Michael Phelps
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Michael Phelps
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While certainly not as bad as finding out your online girlfriend never existed, Phelps found out via Facebook that his girlfriend – Taylor Lianne Chandler – was born a male. Actually, that might be worse. She took drugs to block the production of testosterone as a teen, and eventually had her male genitalia removed via surgery. According to Chandler, the two have “an amazing sex life,” but it’s safe to assume that will come to an immediate end.
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