A little-known Hispanic politician was identified by the White House as the one who gave ‘The One’ a fat lip during a pickup basketball game at Fort McNair in Washington, DC yesterday.

U.S. President Barack Obama took an elbow to the mouth as he went up for a rebound while playing a pickup basketball game with his personal assistant Reggie Love (a former Duke University standout), and “family members” – according to the AP.

Many speculated that the dirty player was either Love, Hillary Clinton or a 5′-2″ female Secret Service Agent.

But the perpetrator was eventually identified as Rey Decerega, who works for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, DC.

Obama’s busted lip required 12 stitches to close. But Hot Air explains that the number of stitches was increased due to doctors using a smaller filament (string) to stitch the wound tighter so the resulting scar would not be as visible when it heals.

Yesterday, the White House released an official statement from Decerega, who says he enjoys playing basketball with Obama and is sure the president will be back out on the court again soon.

Maybe one of Obama’s NBA buddies will educate him on the benefits of wearing a mouth guard such as the custom fanged one that Miami Heat star Lebron James wore during a game on Halloween night.