NFL fines Rams' Puka Nacua $25,000 for comments about officiating
- - NFL fines Rams' Puka Nacua $25,000 for comments about officiating
Tarohn Finley December 19, 2025 at 9:35 PM
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The NFL fined Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua $25,000 for his comments about officiating, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
Before Thursday's overtime defeat against the Seattle Seahawks, Nacua made comments about the officiating on a live stream with streamer Adin Ross.
"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.
“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 Thursday, particularly over a controversial 2-point conversion in the second half.
"I've never quite seen anything like what happened on the 2-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 2-point conversion."
Nacua's comments came after a 12-catch, 225-receiving-yard, two-touchdown performance on 16 targets against the Seahawks. Nacua has recorded 573 receiving yards over the past three weeks. He leads the NFL with 114 receptions and is second in receiving yards with 1,592. He has eight receiving touchdowns on the season.
After Thursday's loss, the Rams are second in the NFC West at 11-4.
Source: “AOL Sports”
