So far, Brek Shea's trip across the Atlantic has been rougher than he anticipated. The former FC Dallas forward, who enjoyed mild fame in the states as American soccer's young hope, Adidas pitchman, and, of course, alt-weekly cover story subject, has spent his first season in the English Premiere League watching from the sidelines.
In three months, Shea made all of two appearances for Stoke City, neither of them particularly impressive. After that, he never even suited up as a sub. The team's manager -- who, by the way, was just fired -- has said Shea isn't "anywhere near" playing at a Premier League level.
See also Brek Shea and the Making of an American Soccer Star
Nor is Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the U.S. national team, particularly happy with Shea right now. All in all, he hasn't lived up to the hopes that came with his $3.8 million salary.
All of that, though, is really just a prelude to the bloody pig's head that showed up in Stoke City's locker room last week. Shea posted a photo of himself holding it in front of his face with the caption "Locker room banter gone wild!!!"
Kenwyne Jones, a Muslim Rastafarian striker, whose locker the decapitated head was left in, was irate. He smashed one player's windshield before chiding his teammates on Twitter: "Big men acting like kids a pigs head is not a prank its just disgusting!!!!! Wtf??? I don't get how was that sup 2 be funny!!!! Really???"
Shea, of course, may have just thought a bloody pig's head would be funny to Instagram and had nothing to do with the prank. We're not sure. Stoke City has said it's investigating. What is clear is that Shea got a lot more attention for holding a pig's head than he has for playing football.
