Rams star Puka Nacua in rehab amid claims of antisemitic remark and biting incident | Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua is in rehab and was there before being sued by a woman who claims he made an anti-Semitic statement and bit her on the shoulder, according to his attorney.
“He was in [rehab] a considerable period of time before any of these allegations come to light…and it’s expected to be there for a while longer,” Levi McCathern told the California Post.
McCathern told the newspaper that Nacua’s decision to enter rehab was not a direct response to the lawsuit filed against him by his accuser by Madison Atiabi last month, but an attempt “to improve his overall behavior in all aspects of his life.”
Madison Atiabi and her lawyer, Joseph Kar, claim Nacua said “fuck all the Jews” at a New Year’s Eve dinner in Los Angeles last year. Atiabi is Jewish and says she “immediately felt uncomfortable and emotionally distressed” when the receiver made the comments. She says Nacua also bit her and left teeth marks on her shoulder later that night. The lawsuit also alleges that Nacua bit Atiabi’s friend on the thumb “with such force that her companion screamed in sharp pain.”
McCathern has strongly denied that Nacua made any anti-Semitic statements. He described the bites as a “ruckus”. McCathern added that “several sober witnesses unequivocally stated that Puka never made the comments claimed by Ms. Atiabi.”
Nacua apologized last December after making a gesture that played into anti-Semitic tropes during his appearance on a live Internet broadcast.
Nacua led the league with 129 catches last season while racking up 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns before leading the NFL again with 24 catches for 332 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs.
The 24-year-old is eligible to sign a contract extension with the Rams this offseason, which would undoubtedly make him one of the highest-paid receivers in NFL history, but the Rams have not announced any progress on a new deal.
