By Sam Gardner Manti Te’o had to know that last week’s NFL Draft wouldn’t mark the end of the embarrassing controversy surrounding his non-existent, dead girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. The jokes were going to fly, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But it’s unlikely the new San Diego Chargers linebacker expected the first stone to be cast by a cartoonist at his new hometown newspaper. Te’o, who was grabbed in last Friday’s second round (38th overall) by Chargers first-year general manager Tom Telesco, made his debut in San Diego during a press conference on Saturday. And in Tuesday’s San Diego Union-Tribune, cartoonist Steve Breen took a shot at the former Notre Dame star with the comic below:
New Charger twitter.com/sdutBreen/stat… — Steve Breen (@sdutBreen) April 30, 2013
The joke isn’t particularly original, and it’s probably somewhat tame compared to what Te’o will hear on the field, in the stands, and from media in larger markets when the season starts this fall. But nevertheless, it’s not the ideal start for a guy who’s just trying to put the past in the past.
