This essay centers on the concepts of catfishing and online impersonation. Utilizing the Manti Te’o catfishing hoax and the Texas Tech football coaching staff’s admittance of using fake profiles on social media to follow their players as a basis, this piece will examine past instances of athletes and catfishing and the connection between collegiate athletics and catfishing. Past legal incidents that focus specifically on catfishing, as well as specific laws that could have ramifications on catfishing and fake online personas will be discussed. Finally, the legal considerations that may have a potential effect on the various communication elements within social media platforms will be explored. Recommendations for future research will also be presented.
