LA Rams star Puka Nacua under fire over ‘antisemitic touchdown dance’ promise
Puka Nacua apologized after performing an antisemitic touchdown gesture learned on a livestream; the NFL and Rams condemned the act amid calls for discipline.
- On Tuesday, Puka Nacua appeared on a Kick livestream with Adin Ross and N3on, performed a gesture Ross suggested, and vowed to use it as a touchdown celebration in the Thursday night game vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
- Ross's sequence—spin, flex, hunch and rub—was taught to Nacua, and Ross, a controversial streamer on Kick, calls it his 'Jewish dance' with fans.
- Video of the gesture circulated on social media, prompting criticism from social media users and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who urged the Los Angeles Rams to make Nacua apologize or be dropped.
- The NFL issued a statement condemning discrimination, and Nacua apologized, saying `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` and `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 clip surfaced days after the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, Australia that killed 15 people, and the Los Angeles Rams said they did not know of Nacua's plans while streamers were denied access to the Rams practice facility and head coach Sean McVay expressed displeasure.
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87 Articles
Los Angeles Rams Star Puka Nacua Issues Apology After Making Antisemitic Gesture on Livestream
The wide receiver claims he "had no idea" the gesture is "antisemitic in nature"Ric Tapia/Getty Puka Nacua on the sideline during a game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on November 26, 2023.NEED TO KNOWLos Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua has issued an apology after making an antisemitic gesture on a livestream featuring Adin Ross on Tuesday, Dec. 16The apology came hours before the wide receiver's team faced off against the Seat…
The Audible: Puka Nacua is a news cycle all by himself
Jim Alexander: It seems that Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has been his very own news cycle the last couple of days, no thanks in part to a couple of, um, YouTubers. (Is that really a thing? Can’t we come up with another title? I’m having enough difficulty typing “influencers” without breaking out in laughter, but I think that’s just from being of a certain age.) Anyway, Puka stepped in it in a couple of ways on a You Tube livestream this week w…
NFL star apologizes for antisemitic hand gesture on controversial livestream
An NFL star has apologized for an antisemitic gesture he mimicked on a livestream earlier this week. Puka Nacua, a third-year wide receiver who plays for the Los Angeles Rams, made the gesture after he was encouraged to on Tuesday by controversial livestreamer Adin Ross. Ross, who is Jewish, suggested Nacua incorporate the gesture into his touchdown celebration. On Thursday, after the gesture was widely condemned online and drew responses from t…
Swalwell calls out Puka Nacua over antisemitic touchdown dance
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on Thursday called Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua an “a**hole” for promising to do an antisemitic touchdown dance. Nacua promised streamer Adin Ross on a livestream that he’d do a dance called the “covetous Jew,” and did it for his viewers. The dance involved the wide receiver pretending to spin a football, flex, and then rub his hands together, a gesture seen as imitating a greedy Jewish person. Swalwell, wh…
LA Rams star apologizes for agreeing to perform offensive gesture in touchdown dance
A star wide receiver on the Los Angeles Rams football team has apologized for agreeing to make an anti-Semitic gesture for a touchdown celebration. During a livestream, Puka Nacua was persuaded by personality Adin Ross to perform a gesture that refers to a trope and meme meant to smear Jewish people. He also agreed to repeat the dance at the next Rams game.'At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetrated harmful ste…
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