It has been a bad week for Puka Nacua. In the wake of the Rams’ wild Thursday Night Football loss to the rival Seattle Seahawks, the star wide receiver has been slapped with a hefty $25,000 fine by the NFL.
In the last few days, he performed an antisemitic dance on a live stream, was forced to delete an ill-advised locker room tweet slamming NFL referees, and his brother was arrested for his alleged role in the theft of a car belonging to a Lakers player.
Now, to make things worse, an insider has revealed to Daily Mail that he’s also had some stern words from the team’s front office.
‘Is it very helpful that Puka is good, because if he wasn’t, the Rams would have suspended him, dropped him, and fined him for his actions and words,’ the source tells us, detailing the team’s fury with their star man.
‘The Rams are trying to get to the Super Bowl, and these distractions that Puka is providing are and always will be ill-timed. They have told him to focus on his on-field responsibilities and get his head out of his a**.
‘It is becoming a distraction, and after the loss the Rams had last night, all the coaches and management have told him to figure it out before it becomes a real problem.
Puka Nacua has had a rough week off the field, getting himself into hot water on multiple fronts
Nacua was criticized after devising a dance which included an offensive Jewish stereotype
‘Puka still has kid gloves on him, but the team would like to keep it that way and not be forced to take any action over his complete lack of thought and stupidity.’
All eyes were on the 24-year-old on Tuesday night as he took to the field in Seattle just hours after issuing a groveling apology for a live stream dance many perceived to be antisemitic.
He appeared on a Kick video with streamers Adin Ross and N3on, who encouraged Nacua to practice a touchdown celebration, which first sees him spin the ball and flex before rubbing his hands together, with the latter gesture referencing a degrading concept of Jewish people.
Nacua later claimed in a statement that he was unaware of the offensive connotations of the dance move.
‘When I appeared the other day on a social media livestream, it was suggested to me to perform a specific movement as part of my next touchdown celebration,’ Nacua began in a statement.
Head coach Sean McVay was put on the spot on the podium seconds after Nacua tweeted
‘At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.
‘I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.’
On the same stream, he took aim at referees, commenting: ‘The refs are the worst. 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”.’
In a post, Nakua referenced comments he made previously about refs wanting to be famous
The wide receiver has emerged as one of the NFL’s biggest stars over the past two seasons
In the Rams’ loss to the Seahawks, a controversial two-point conversion in favor of Seattle contributed heavily to the final result, and Nakua once again landed himself in hot water when he headed back to the locker room.
Just minutes after leaving center stage, he posted – and soon after deleted – a message which read: ‘Can you say I was wrong. Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. lol’
Soon after, he spoke to the media and was asked about the kneejerk post, commenting: ‘It was just a lack of awareness. Just frustration.’
It is for those refereeing comments that he has been fined $25,000, and there could yet be further punishment coming for the antisemitic dance on the live stream if NFL chiefs deem it worthy of a second fine.
