Missouri Basketball Players Say Cheerleader Beatdown Was Self-Defense

Twist! The two Lady Tiger hoops players accused of roughing up a male cheerleader say that they did get physical with him, but only after he G-O-T A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E with their other female friend.

It seems that everything you heard in the previous story was true. The girls, including seniors Amanda Hanneman and Jessra Johnson, went out to the bar after their basketball game then returned to a friend's apartment around 2 a.m. for some after hours hang time. The cheerleader who also lived in the apartment, now identified as Missouri senior Justin Short, complained to his female roommate that she and her friends were being too loud and then the basketball players smacked him around. But the girls say that the first story omitted a key step—that Short "physically restrained" his roommate and that's when they stepped in. This disturbance was even more dynamic than we thought.

In addition, there is a conflicting report from Hanneman's mother, who told the Daily Tribune that Short is actually Amanda's friend, that he was out drinking with her and Johnson at the bar, and that it was a third female roommate who actually complained about the noise. She also said that Short knocked down one of the roommates and had his hand around her throat, but moms have a tendency to get these stories confused. Columbia police says it was Short who called them first about the noise.

Short has also been suspended from his team, but prosecutors have not decided to press charges against anyone yet. So for the second time in as many days, our existing preconceptions about gender and sports have been turned on their heads. I think at this point the only thing we can all believe in is that having roommates is the worst.

Suspended Mizzou players say they aided friend [AP] Injured MU cheerleader suspended [Columbia Daily Tribune] More details emerge in arrest of women's basketball players [Columbia Missourian] Tigers Maul Cheerleader [The Smoking Gun]