Irish pres defends handling of Te'o

Published Jan. 25, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Notre Dame's president has sent the school's board of trustees a letter outlining and defending the actions of university leaders after they were informed about the Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax.

The letter from the Rev. John Jenkins was dated Friday and obtained by The Associated Press from a university official on condition of anonymity because the private school's internal workings are confidential.

It says school administrators decided within hours of hearing from Te'o that it did not involve a crime and within two days had concluded there was no NCAA violation.

Jenkins says Te'o's story has held up despite unrelenting scrutiny. And he says that until Jan. 3, university officials believed Lennay Kekua was real.