Roughly 30 years ago, we became far more litigious as a society. Within the past five years, we became far less discreet as a society. Those two dynamics don’t mesh very well.
When it comes to lawsuits filed by one person against another, anything that either party has said -- in any setting -- can be used against either party in court. And social media has become a major source for harvesting evidence of things people say.
In the lawsuit filed by Erica Kinsman against Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, Winston will use evidence of things Kinsman said on Twitter in the months after the sexual encounter with Winston that she contends was rape. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Winston will introduce in the pending litigation tweets from Kinsman in which she roots for the Florida State team for which Winston served as the starting quarterback and star player.
For example, on September 2, a full nine months after she identified Winston as the man who allegedly raped her, Winston will point out that she tweeted during Florida State’s game against Pitt: (1) “Pitt is the perfect example of why I would never want to go to school in the north. #everyonesugly #FSUvsPITT"; and (2) “Interception, f--k you Pitt.” The following month, she tweeted, “Who’s Clemson?” during Florida State’s game against Clemson.
It’s believed that Kinsman will argue that she went to Florida State games as part of her therapy for the alleged rape. Which means that Winston’s lawyers will be looking for the therapist who believed it would be helpful to Kinsman to attend games featuring her alleged rapist, and to cheer for him.
As the litigation unfolds, there could be more evidence like this. Which eventually could cause Kinsman’s case to crumble.
