The NFL fined Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua $25,000 for recent comments critical of officiating, NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo reported Friday, according to a source.
Speaking live this week with internet personalities Adin Ross and Mikyle Rafiq, also known as N3on, Nacua said NFL officials are “the worst.”
“Some of the rules are not … These kids want to be … these kids are lawyers. They also want to be on TV,” Nacua said. “You don’t think he’s messaging his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yeah, you just saw me on Sunday night football. It wasn’t PI, but I called it.’
After Thursday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams WR doubled down in a since-deleted social media post.
“Can you tell I was wrong,” Nacua wrote. “Thank you stripes for your contribution. Lol.”
After Nacua deleted the post, he told reporters he made the latter comment in a “moment of frustration.”
“Just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that,” he said, “just thinking about the opportunities I could have done better to take it out of their hands.”
Nacua was also asked if he believed what he said live regarding the officials calling in to show on television.
“No, I don’t,” he said. “It was just a lack of awareness and just some frustration. I know there are moments where I feel like a man, you watch other games and you think about the calls some guys get, and you wish you could get some of those. But that’s just the way football is played. I’ll do my job to work my technique to make sure there’s not a call issue.”