I guess I'll pick believe, but I surely don't know enough about the kid or the situation to have much confidence in either answer.

If the player had his meal privileges revoked, it's not that hard to believe. Maybe there's some exaggerating, but not eating would tend to not play out well for a 20-year-old student athlete.

Mostly I thought the whole "it's not a big deal, but it's a big deal" from the OP was kinda funny