Angry LA Rams star Puka Nacua is set to land himself in more hot water after doubling down on his criticism of NFL referees in a knee-jerk tweet from the locker room.
The Rams were on the end of a gutting overtime loss to their rival Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, with a bizarre two-point conversion at the heart of the home team’s wild comeback from 16 points down.
LA thought they had got away with it when both teams believed the play to be over, but a review determined that Sam Darnold threw a backward pass that was recovered in the end zone by the offense.
It sparked jubilant scenes at Lumen Field but left the Rams aghast, and led to Nakua pulling out his phone very quickly in the locker room postgame.
‘Can you say I was wrong’, he began in a now-deleted tweet, referencing comments he made earlier in the week that refs deliberately make incorrect calls in a bid to boost their airtime on TV.
‘Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. lol’, he added.
In a now-deleted tweet, Puka Nacua doubled down on his criticism of NFL referees postgame
In the post, he referenced comments he made previously about refs wanting to be famous
In a live Kick stream with Adin Ross and N3on earlier this week, Nacua had said: ‘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”.’
If Nacua’s initial comments hadn’t raised enough concern from NFL chiefs to warrant a fine, his second comments on social media will surely pass the threshold.
The superstar wide receiver is currently on a rookie contract that earns him around $1 million a year.
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.
As well as taking a swipe at NFL referees – and Taylor Swift – on the live stream, Nacua also sparked a more alarming type of controversy when he was captured working on an antisemitic touchdown dance with Adin Ross, who is Jewish himself.
Nacua was also criticized after devising a touchdown dance which includes an offensive Jewish stereotype
Ross encouraged Nacua to perform the celebration, which first sees him spin the ball and flex before rubbing his hands together, with the latter gesture becoming a signature move of the streamer to reference a degrading concept of Jewish people.
Nacua later publicly apologized for his actions, claiming 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.
‘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.’
The Rams also spoke out on the controversy in a brief statement, sharing: ‘There is no place in this world for Antisemitism as well as other forms of prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish people and people of any religion, ethnicity, or race.’
The LA wideout has caused outrage by performing the dance with Ross, with California politician Eric Swalwell blasting him as an ‘a**hole’ after seeing the viral clip.