To the editor:

Whether Manti Te’o was an unwitting victim or a knowing participant in the “dead girlfriend hoax” remains to be seen.
What has become obvious is that the press these days is too lazy/gullible/starstruck (take your pick) to properly investigate a story, choosing instead to regurgitate whatever version of events is fed to them by those with an agenda.
A case in point is the South Bend Tribune’s front-page headline “Cruel Hoax” published Jan. 17, the day after the story broke.
Rather than objectively report what was known for sure at the time, the article merely repeats the assertion of Notre Dame’s athletic director that Te’o was positively the victim.
This may or may not turn out to be true.
Fact-checking is pesky, but it’s the foundation of journalistic integrity.
The writers at the Trib would do well to remember this and to refrain from presenting unverified opinions as facts.
Otherwise, they may as well don helmets and shoulder pads, if all they’re interested in doing is playing defense for Notre Dame.

Janis Hadley
Dowagiac