LA Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has risked the wrath of the NFL after launching into a blistering attack on referees in a controversial live stream appearance.
The NFL star – who is becoming one of the biggest names in the league – appeared on a live Twitch video with Adin Ross and N3on this week, and he could yet feel the ramifications of some of his comments.
In a clip that quickly went viral – and is likely to have caught the attention of NFL chiefs on Park Avenue – Nacua decided to slam the league’s part-time referees, alleging that they make incorrect calls in a deliberate attempt to get on television.
‘The refs are the worst,’ Nacua said. ‘These guys are lawyers. They want to be on TV, too.
‘You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, “Yo, you just saw me on ‘Sunday Night Football?’ That wasn’t PI (pass interference), but I called it”.’
The NFL’s decision to keep its referees as part-time employees – despite being a multi-billion dollar empire – has long been a controversial topic, and it is seemingly something players have strong opinions too.
Puka Nacua (second from left) made a series of damning claims on a live stream with Adin Ross
Nacua claimed that NFL referees make calls in a bid to gain notoriety and time on television
Nacua’s comment on referees wasn’t the only controversial moment on the live stream, after some viewers perceived him to have made an antisemitic gesture by copying Ross’ celebration.
The streamer asked the NFL star to perform a touchdown dance when he next scores for the Rams, with the pair practicing the move on the live stream.
It was claimed by some viewers that the final part of the dance mimicked Jews, though there is nothing to suggest Nacua was aware of the gesture he was making.
Nacua also went on to discuss the Kansas City Chiefs’ failure to make it to the playoffs, blaming their demise on the ‘Taylor Swift curse’.
The Chiefs are in unfamiliar and unwanted territory after being eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014, with Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the LA Chargers putting the final nail in the coffin.
Their staggering collapse has cast doubt over the future of Swift’s fiance Travis Kelce, who must now weigh up whether to play on for a 14th season or call time on his NFL career.
Yet according to Nacua, Kansas City might be better off without the presence of Kelce’s lover in the stands at Arrowhead.
‘I mean, they didn’t have Rashee Rice who’s their other receiver this year,’ he initially said. ‘I don’t feel like they ran the ball well. [Isiah] Pacheco was their running back, right? I don’t feel like he played really good.’
Nacua then added to the amusement of Ross and N3on: ‘It’s got to be the Swift curse or something like that, I don’t know… after they ran out of a little bit of the juice.’
The ‘curse’ Nacua was referring to is unclear, given Kansas City won the Super Bowl in 2024 with Swift watching on from the stands before falling at the final hurdle in their bid for a historic ‘three-peat’ last season.
