Jameis Winston files counterclaim against accuser, denies rape

TAMPA, Fla., May 9 (UPI) -- Just a week after officially joining the NFL, Jameis Winston is filing suit.

Winston, who signed a four-year, $23.35 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, filed a counterclaim against Erica Kinsman, who is seeking civil damages after accusing him of rape. The lawsuit claims the woman is trying to "substantially harm" his personal and professional reputation so he will "pay her off."

The counterclaim was filed by Winston's lawyers in federal court in Orlando.

In it, Winston's lawyers state Kinsman "has mounted a false and vicious media campaign to vilify Mr. Winston with the objective of getting him to pay her to go away" and that Kinsman is motivated by "greed."

While a student at Florida State University, Kinsman says she was drunk at a bar in December 2012 when she was taken to Winston's apartment and raped. Winston, who denies the allegations, says the two had consensual sex. Winston was cleared by FSU in a student conduct hearing and has yet to be charged by prosecutors.

Kinsman filed a civil lawsuit against Winston on April 16.

Kinsman spoke about the alleged sexual assault in documentary The Hunting Ground by filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, which premiered Jan. 23 at the Sundance Film Festival.