Lawyers for No. 1 NFL pick Jameis Winston said in a federal court filing that the former Florida State University quarterback did not rape the woman who is suing him and that she is motivated by greed.
Attorneys John F. Myers and David Cornwell Sr. filed a counterclaim Friday against Erica Kinsman in court in Orlando for the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kinsman filed a lawsuit against Winston last month, saying she was intoxicated at a Tallahassee bar in December 2012 when Winston and others took her back to an off-campus apartment and he sexually assaulted her. Her suit, filed two weeks before the April 30 NFL draft, accused Winston of rape, assault, false imprisonment and emotional distress.
He signed a four-year, $23.35 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was at the start of rookie minicamp on Friday.
Winston has denied the allegations and prosecutors declined to file charges against him in late 2013. He also was cleared by the university following a two-day student conduct hearing last year.
Telephone messages left by The Associated Press with attorneys for Kinsman and Winston weren’t immediately returned early Saturday.
In the counterclaim, the lawyers said Kinsman has told “many different and inconsistent accounts of her sexual encounter” with Winston. “She has mounted a false and vicious media campaign to vilify Mr. Winston with the objective of getting him to pay her to go away. Ms. Kinsman is motivated by the most insidious objectives — greed,” the counterclaim said. The court filing said Winston has requested a jury hear the lawsuit. This story originally appeared on NBC News
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