The Villa Rica man allegedly involved in a stabbing outside the Georgia Dome after Sunday night’s NFC Championship game tells WSB-TV in Atlanta that the incident was a result of self-defense; and his attorney disputes the claim that his client has even been arrested.

The attorney for 46-year-old James Lewis McCoy is Mac Pilgrim, also of Villa Rica. He reportedly tells WSB that his client was “essentially attacked-unprovoked, by maybe four to five to six men. He says “Mr. McCoy at some point and time did reach in his pocket and retrieve a small box blade knife that he carries in conjunction with his job, and used that to get the men off of him.”

According to multiple media outlets, Police said verbally and in a written statement that McCoy had been arrested; but his attorney disagreed. Pilgrim reportedly said that McCoy was merely given a citation for reckless conduct.