NFL fines Rams WR Puka Nacua for recent criticism of officials

The NFL fined Puka Nacua's $25,000 for his comments regarding officials on a livestream prior to the Los Angeles Rams' overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

During the livestream, the Rams' star receiver said that officials make calls so that they can "be on TV, too." 

"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." 

Nacua slammed officials again following Thursday night's loss in a since-deleted social media post. Late in the game, the Rams appeared to stop the Seahawks' game-tying, two-point conversion attempt before the initial call on the field was reversed after it was determined that Sam Darnold's pass was thrown behind the line of scrimmage, which made it a live ball instead of an incompletion. 

"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," Rams coach Sean McVay said afterward. "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 said during his postgame comments that he had "a moment of frustration" when he criticized the officials following Thursday night's loss on social media. 

"After a tough and intense game like that, just thinking about the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of [the officials'] hands," he said. 

While he caught 12 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns against Seattle, all of the questions regarding Nacua following Thursday's night's game were about his actions during the livestream. Along with criticizing the officials, Nacua issued an apology prior to Thursday night's game after doing a dance on the livestream that has been characterized as antisemitic. 

"I know I'll learn from it," he said. "I don't want to be a distraction in any week, especially in a short week." 

McVay, who was uncharacteristically emotional following a game where his team relinquished a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, said that he will continue to help and support his young receiver. 

"I know this guy's heart," McVay said. "For anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that. I know he feels that exact same way. He's a young guy, a great kid that's continuing to learn about the platform that he has. I love him. We're going to continue to put our arm around him and help him learn and grow, but we never want to do things that ever offend anybody, and I know he feels that same way." 

Nacua isn't the first notable NFL player to receive a fine for criticizing officiating. Late in the 2023 seaosn, for example, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, received a $50,000 fine after criticizing officials following a loss to the Buffalo Bills.