Washington Redskin Players Victims of "Catfishing"
MALVEAUX: Manti Te'o, the Notre Dame star linebacker, admitting that he lied about seeing his fake girlfriend. But he says he was the victim of a hoax. Now we are hearing the voice of the person who pretended to be the girlfriend in this call with Te'o.</s>UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: I'm just calling to say good night. I love you. I know that you're probably doing homework or with you're the boys. I love you and good night. I'll be OK tonight. I'll do my best. Yes. Get your rest and I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you so much. Sweet dreams.</s>MALVEAUX: Te'o's former coach told my colleague, Erin Burnett, says Te'o is only guilty of being naive.</s>BRIAN POLIAN, FORMER NOTRE DAME ASSISTANT COACH: This is as good hearted and selfless a person as I have ever met in my life. I think just in general the public and certainly the media are having a hard time wrapping their head around the image of this young man. Could he be that naive? And naive is a better word, to be honest with you. He really is a completely trusting person.</s>MALVEAUX: Manti Te'o is not the only high-profile athlete who has fallen victim to an online scam. Brian Todd reports that this happened to players with the Washington Redskins.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It was about the same time Manti Te'o claims he first learned his online girlfriend was phony, an indication that other high- profile football players had been Te'o'd. A memo went up in the locker room of the Washington Redskins in December. The gist of it was, "Stay away from @RedRidnHOOd. Avoid her on Twitter, avoid her on Instagram, do not converse with this person on any social media platform. She is not who she claims to be." That's according to an article on nfl.com, the league's official web site, which says the memo was posted by Philip Daniels, a former Redskins defense ends who is now the team's director of player development. (on camera): The Redskins said Philip Daniels was not available to speak to us and the team wouldn't put anyone out to talk to us about the players' interactions with the woman on social media. But Daniels told nfl.com that on multiple occasions several Redskins players tried to arrange meetings with the woman who the report says went by the pseudonym Sydney Ackerman. (voice-over): She not only wasn't Sydney Ackerman, report says, she also wasn't C.J. Miles, the Internet adult entertainment star, whose pictures were ripped off and used in correspondence with the players. There is an unverified Twitter feed registered to C.J. Miles with pictures of a similar looking woman. Tweets there warn fans that an impostor has used her photos and say she feels sorry for the players who fell for the hoax. The nfl.com report says none of the players were successful in arranging meetings with the woman who sent the tweets. And that raised suspicions with the Redskins. Nfl.com sources say the woman's a Redskins fan, didn't ask the players for money or perks, and didn't threaten them. But former Redskins tight end, Rick "Doc" Walker, now a radio analyst, says the communications were fraught with risk.</s>RICK "DOC" WALKER, RADIO ANALYST & FORMER REDSKINS TIGHT END: Yes, not the smartest thing you do. But you do things when you're young that aren't real bright. You look back on it as you grow up. But the whole Internet deal is odd to me. Manti Te'o deal to me is ridiculous.</s>TODD (on camera): And the players have women coming at them from all directions anyway, right?</s>WALKER: I would assume. I don't know. It's not my world. But I know a lot of guys who are very popular and I would say that anybody who believes that pros are chasing ghosts is a damn fool.</s>TODD (voice-over): Who is the woman who sent the tweets to players? The nfl.com reporter said they were unable to verify the woman's identity. A league spokesman had no comment on the report, even though it was done by the league's web site. And we have tried to reach C.J. Miles in e-mails. We haven't heard back. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.</s>MALVEAUX: Police say a 15-year-old killed his family and was planning to shoot up a Wal-Mart. How he was stopped and why he planned to continue his rampage.