Jorge Pena, the 25-year-old 8-ball jacket aficionado who was arrested and put in jail for four days after a wild melee on the F train this weekend, has gone on a charm offensive. Pena spoke with both the Post and News about the incident, which was captured in a widely-shared video in the days since the fight.

"I never slapped anyone before. Especially a girl," the 6-foot-6 Pena, a former baseball prospect, told the Post. "But when I saw that blood, I couldn’t take it. She attacked me like a man." Pena, a part-time bouncer, said he was on his way home after a 12-hour shift when allegedly drunk straphanger Danay Howard started making fun of his jacket and his slight speech impediment.

As you can see in the video, Howard seems to berate Pena relentlessly: Pena said he told her, "I don't talk to you. I don't know you. Just leave me alone. I don't know why you're talking to me," at one point. More words are exchanged between Pena, Howard, and some of Howard's friends (among other things, Howard allegedly called Pena a "bum ass n**ga" and "stupid"); Pena tried to walk away from the group, he calls Howard a "bitch" at one point, and Howard starts hitting him with her stiletto. That's when Pena slapped her, sparking the full fight.

"She put me in a position that I had no choice. She tried to kill me," Pena explained to the News. "I am quiet man...I respect women. That's why I don't do nothing when she pushed me but when she hit me I had to do something. I had no choice," he said.

Initially, Pena was charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct in the incident. He spent four nights in jail after the fight, but his lawyer says charges were dropped after authorities ​determined he was acting in self-defense. Pena's lawyer is considering pressing charges against Howard. "She is ultimately the reason he was put in the situation,” attorney Joseph Indusi told the News. "We're currently investigating with an eye toward possible future civil litigation."

Howard, 21, has been charged with felony assault and disorderly conduct. Kevin Gil, 21, was charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct, and Shanuique Campbell, 21, was also charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct.

Pena, the father of a 20-month-old, says he would apologize to Howard for hitting her if he got the chance: "If see her I’m going to apologize to her because a man should never hit a girl."

Though he still loves his jacket, he isn't sure he is going to wear it any more: "I love this jacket," Pena said. "But I don’t think I can wear it anymore. People will just know me because of it and what happened."