Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is prepared to sue CNN... if it airs a documentary about college campus rape this weekend, which features a segment about him.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a documentary called The Hunting Ground -- which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year -- features a segment about the rape investigation against Winston while he was at Florida State, as well as the first public interview from Winston's accuser, Erica Kinsman.
"We are writing to formally caution CNN that the portions of the film The Hunting Ground, pertaining to Mr. Winston are false and defamatory to Mr. Winston," a letter from Winston's attorney to CNN reads. "We urge CNN to reconsider the reckless decision to proceed with the broadcast of this deeply-flawed documentary in the face of the overwhelming evidence the film's producers consciously and intentionally failed to adhere to any accepted journalistic standards."
Kinsman accused Winston of raping her in December 2012. However, he was never interviewed by Tallahassee police and was not criminally charged in the alleged incident.
There was a student conduct hearing, where Winston declined to answer questions, but read a statement declaring that he "did not rape or sexually assault" Kinsman.
The Hunting Ground received positive reviews after its Sundance premiere, but since has been the target of criticism by some for being unfair. Winston's lawyer says the documentary omits some exculpatory evidence and "manipulates, misstates or simply omits facts to present a false narrative."
The Hunting Ground is scheduled to air on CNN on Sunday night.
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