The NFL fined Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua $25,000 for his comments about the officiating, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Before Thursday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, Nacua made comments about the officiating on a live stream with streamer Adin Ross.
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“The refs are the worst,” Nacua said. “You don’t think (a ref) is texting his friends in the group chat, like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on ‘Sunday Night Football’? That wasn’t PI, but I called it.’ … These guys are human beings, too.”
Two minutes after Thursday’s 38-37 overtime loss to the Seahawks, Nacua went to social media to voice his frustrations.
“Can you say I was wrong. Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol” Nacua wrote.
Nacua quickly deleted the post and apologized for his actions when talking to reporters after the game.
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“It was just a lack of awareness,” Nacua said. “Just frustration.”
Nacua also faced backlash after an antisemitic gesture that he made on Ross’ stream. Nacua apologized and said he was unaware of what the gesture meant.
When asked about Nacua’s comments, head coach Sean McVay said he was unaware and declined to directly address the tweet. He also defended Nacua by calling him “a great kid that’s continuing to learn about the platform he has.”
McVay was also frustrated with the officiating on Thursday.
“I’ve never quite seen anything like what happened on the two-point conversion, where you’re lined up to kickoff, then they say it’s a fumble because you have a clear and obvious recovery,” McVay said. “Now, you tack it on, make it a 30-30 game. Very interesting. Didn’t get clear explanation of everything that went on just because of the timing of it.
“Never been a part of anything like that, and I’ve grown up around this game. I’m not making excuses … but we do want clarity and an understanding of the things that we can do minimize that when we rejected the two-point conversion.”
Nacua’s comments came after a 12-catch, 225-receiving-yard, two-touchdown performance on 12 targets against the Seahawks. Nacua has recorded 537 receiving yards over the last three weeks. He now leads the NFL with 114 receptions and is second in receiving yards with 1,592. He has seven touchdowns on the season.
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After Thursday’s loss, the Rams are second in the NFC West at 11-4.
