Jameis Winston Files Counterclaim Against Rape Accuser Erica Kinsman, Seeks Over $75,000 In Damages

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Jameis Winston filed a counterclaim on Friday against a woman who accused him of rape, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment and intentionally inflicting “emotional distress” in December 2012. His attorneys filed the lawsuit in court in Orlando stating that Winston did not rape the woman.

Erica Kinsman filed a lawsuit against the NFL draft's No. 1 pick last month, saying that he forcibly raped her after allegedly spiking her drink when she was a student at Florida State University (FSU). Winston’s attorneys reportedly said that Kinsman’s claims harmed the Heisman-winning quarterback’s career and personal life. Winston, 21, is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 and punitive damages that will be determined later, according to USA Today.

"Mr. Winston brings this action against Ms. Kinsman out of necessity, not malice or ill will," the court document said, according to Reuters. "Nonetheless, Ms. Kinsman's false statements have irreparably harmed his professional and personal life."

In the counterclaim, the lawyers reportedly said that 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, according to the Associated Press.

Kinsman told her story in a documentary, “The Hunting Ground,” released earlier this year about rape on college campuses.

Winston has denied the allegations and was never arrested or charged with a crime. Prosecutors had declined to file charges against him in late 2013, and he was cleared of violating FSU's student conduct code in connection to Kinsman's allegation, following a two-day student conduct hearing last year.