A friend of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, identified as the man behind the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax, says he called her in early December admitting to duping the former Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman finalist, ESPN reported Friday.

The friend, a woman in her mid-20s who asked not to be identified, discussed the scheme in an interview Thursday on ESPN's Outside the Lines. She said her family fears for its safety as a result of the enermous interest in the story.

The woman said Tuiasosopo, in his confession to her, called the hoax on Te'o a game that he had played on others in the past.

"(Ronaiah) told me that Manti was not involved at all; he was a victim," she said. "The girlfriend was a lie, the accident was a lie, the leukemia was a lie.

"He was crying, he was literally crying, he's like 'I know, I know what I have to do.' t's not only Manti, but he was telling me that it's a lot of other people they had done this to."

Since the story became public, the woman said he urged Tuiasosopo to admit responsibility when she spoke with him Wednesday.

"I am worried for him, not just him and his family but I know that you can't judge people like that and that's why I continue to just encourage (him) to come out and tell the truth," she said.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday night at a news conference that the alleged relationship with Lennay Kekua, who Ta'o had identfied as his girlfriend, occurred over the phone and on the Internet. A report by Deadspin.com, published Wednesday, indicated that no existing records for a woman by that name were found.

Te'o has not publicly addressed the controversy since the Deadspin report exploded Wednesday night.

On Friday, Swarbrick urged Te'o to make a public statement.