The “real” Lennay Kekua, according to GlobalGrind.com.

Each of us who follow sports closely enough has felt like Manti Te’o does now.

Duped.

Fooled.

Deceived.

Conned.

Cheated.

Each and every word applies. So don’t many others.

I was hoodwinked in November 2011. In a journal entry for my sports ethics class, I argued that – despite the growing number of scandals and instances of cheating in big-time college athletics – such occurrences were isolated, rare and overly populated the news cycle in a way that shed the rest of college sports in a bad light. I, ultimately, wrote that the rewards resulting from college sports far outweighed any negative consequences.

As an aside, I still hold onto this belief, though it is fleeting. I tend to believe that more damning evidence of cheating, scandal and hypocrisy in college athletics is swept neatly under the rug than what is actually revealed. As the old saying goes: If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. We shouldn’t be so naïve to believe that corners aren’t being cut – to varying degrees – in every sport at every level of the NCAA.

Back to the journal entry, which was dated Nov. 1, 2011. To help support my theory that college athletics – for the most part – were righteous in their ways, I cited the successful on-and-off-the-field tenure of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

This is what I wrote:

Since 1966, coach Joe Paterno has been able to run a clean program while also competing on the field at the highest level.  Paterno is well known for conducting what he calls, the “Grand Experiment,” which closely melds academics and athletics in the college environment.  As a result, Paterno’s players have continually graduated at a high rate and have often benefited greatly from Paterno’s guidance in their post-athletic careers.

I went on to conclude:

When it comes to college athletics as a whole, I’m more apt to believe Paterno is the rule rather than the exception, even at the highest levels.

Only four days after I handed in this masterpiece, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of sexual abuse. Three days after that, Paterno was fired for his perceived role in the Sandusky cover-up.

In the midst of it all, the professor had to be laughing his ass off as he read and graded my assignment the week the Penn State scandal played out.

Paterno? Virtuous? Yeah, not quite.

I learned my lesson. We all have. Sports are filled with more villains and crooks and con men than our most dangerous alleyways.

We may as well put greater trust in Lennay Kekua than our noted sports figures.