During the 2025 NFL season, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua found himself in hot water after appearing on a livestream with internet personalities Adin Ross and N3on.
Ross encouraged Nacua to incorporate an anti-semitic gesture as a touchdown celebration, having him practice it on the livestream. Nacua also criticized the league’s referees, which he later doubled down on after the loss to Seattle. Nacua would apologize for his actions, stating he was unaware of the anti-semitic nature of what he was prompted to do.
Nacua never performed the celebration in a game and has distanced himself from that situation. When the incident happened, it occurred during the week that the Rams took on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night. The Rams were already without Davante Adams, and despite the media storm surrounding Nacua, he went off during the Week 16 defeat in Seattle, putting up 12 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Recently, Rams safety Quentin Lake spoke about Nacua’s performance, despite everything that was occurring off the field.
Lake shares his perspective
Sitting down with The Arena: Gridiron, Lake shared his sideline perspective on what Nacua was like during the contest.
“He has that mentality that you need to be a dog at receiver, he got that” stated Lake. “Thursday night when we unfortunately lost against the Seahawks, Puka was going through some things with like streamers and all that. I was hurt at the time. Sitting there, I was like, you know what, it’d be crazy if he went for like 250 yards.”
“I was sitting there and I got chills because I was sitting there, I was looking at him and he wasn’t talking to nobody. He was standing up, but he was looking like this. If you got that look at a receiver, he’s about to go off. He didn’t even look at you, but he gave you a strong dap, like he ended up going for like 13 catches, 250 yards.”
Despite Nacua’s heroic performance, which included a 41-yard touchdown reception in overtime, the Rams would lose 38-37.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Quentin Lake reflects on Puka Nacua’s mentality during whirlwind Week 16
Reporting by Brock Vierra, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brock Vierra, Rams Wire | USA TODAY Network
