When David Cornwell, Jameis Winston's attorney, tweeted the name of Winston's accuser on Tuesday night, he did so purposefully.
With his client's name a popular topic in media, he wanted to even the stakes and tweeted the accuser's name for everyone to see.
"There's a confidentially condition in Title IX matters that pertains to both parties," Cornwell told AL.com. "Patricia Carroll [one of the accuser's attorneys] did a press conference and put [Jameis Winston's] name out there."
Winston's attorney tweeted the accuser's name Tuesday.
Florida State is currently under investigation by the Department of Education for Title IX policy issues in relation to the Winston case. Title IX policies require conduct hearings for any sexual assault claims made against a current student of the school.
AL.com has decided to redact the woman's name from Cornwell's tweet. John Clune, the accuser's attorney, declined to comment on the situation when reached Wednesday.
Kathy Redmond Brown, the founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletics, said Cornwell's tweet was a "sleazy tactic." Brown was sexually abused by former Nebraska football player Christian Peter in 1991 and has devoted her life to helping women who have been victimized.
"He didn't need to tweet out anything," said Brown, who has been involved with numerous high-profile sexual assault cases involving athletes. "He could have just said due process. A defense attorney taking to Twitter is about as reckless as their defendants taking to Twitter. Anybody who knows about rabid fanbases like Florida State knows that any time you call out someone like that and put her name out there, you are basically throwing her to the wolves in hopes she backs down. You are basically hoping she drops everything."
Brown believes Cornwell's tweet encourages the accuser's detractors to dig up dirt on her. With her name publicly tweeted, it could lead to nasty phone calls, blog posts and detractors intimidating the accuser's family. It could also discourage other potential sexual assault victims from coming forward.
"It's a sophomoric approach to law," she said about the tweet. "It's a very desperate attempt to get her to drop all that she is doing. It's an affront to rape victims."
Winston, a Hueytown graduate, has never been charged for the December 2012 incident, but currently faces four student conduct code violations at Florida State. Two of the violations pertain to sexual misconduct as Winston was accused of sexually assaulting the alleged victim in the case at an off-campus house.
Winston, along with his attorney, has publicly maintained his innocence.
Retired Florida Supreme Court justice Major Harding has been tabbed as the person to handle the student conduct hearing. If Winston is found guilty of violating the student conduct code, he could face punishment as severe as expulsion from the university.
AL.com director of sports Roy S. Johnson contributed to this report.