Does anyone believe Johnny Manziel's version of the truth? 

Is it the athletes or is it us? Which one of us has changed?

Maybe both.

Maybe the nonstop adulation they receive on social media has made them lazy when spinning their tales, because they think everyone will just lap up the explanation, squeal and beg for a retweet.

Or maybe it’s just us growing cynical, weary of all those times we’ve been hoodwinked.

Regardless, this much seems clear: Athletes just don’t seem to lie as well as they used to.

When was the last time you were actually fooled by a fib?

For me, it was falling for the following statement: “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.”

That was Rafael Palmeiro — complete with infamous finger wag — in front of Congress in 2005. I bought it. All of it. Maybe it was the Frank Beamer-esque preamble he used (“I’ll say this, gang. …) Perhaps it was that pinstriped suit and polka-dotted tie. Maybe it was that dashing mustache Raffy wore. Or maybe it was just that Raffy didn’t look as big as those other guys who had hit all those home runs.

Whatever the reason, his explanation was good enough for me … until five months later, when he failed a PED test.

Man, did I feel betrayed. I fired off a sanctimonious column for the next day’s paper. It was angry. It was mournful. It was melodramatic.

And in hindsight, it was silly, because I never should have bought the lie in the first place. At least not 100 percent.

Those who didn’t believe Palmeiro likely have their own story of naivete and betrayal. Pete Rose. Mark McGwire. Lance Armstrong. Marion Jones. On and on and on, athletes lying about everything from gambling to steroids, and finding takers for their deceit.

Until recently, it seems.

All this leads us to the latest story spun by an athlete on the hot seat. This one may or may not be as important as the one I fell for. Raffy had the gravity of Capitol Hill, but this one involves a defending Heisman Trophy winner’s eligibility.

ESPN reported this week that the NCAA is investigating Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel for accepting a “five-figure flat fee” for signing autographs. Let’s leave the debate of whether a college player should be able to make money off his own name for another time.

Instead, let’s go straight to Johnny Football’s explanation.

Manziel told Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples that he met the autograph broker at the team hotel in Alabama on November 9, when Manziel and teammate Ryan Swope were settling into their room.

“Alabama game, a guy walks into my hotel room with me,” Manziel told Staples in a July 26 interview. “I opened the door. I had a big bag on my shoulder. I opened the door real wide — he kind of sticks his foot in the door. He kind of comes in with me. ‘Hey man, will you sign this bag of stuff?’ Swope is in the bathroom. He walks in and sees me mid-signing this guy’s stuff … “Swope was like, ‘Hey, man. What are you doing in here?’ “He said ‘Oh, he said he would sign some stuff for me.’ I’m like, ‘I mean, I didn’t really say I would sign it for you. But I’ll do it for you. Get the hell out and it won’t be too big of a deal.’ ”

So that’s how it went down, eh? Stranger with a big sack o’ stuff barged into your room, and you just started signing?

Come on, Johnny Football. Hope you at least wagged your finger when delivering that one.

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