LA Rams WR Puka Nacua engages in antisemitism on a livestream, NFL media studiously avoids reporting it.

[RockRaven]

From Yahoo Sports:
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/puka-nacua-adin-ross-appearance-215452865.html

If you’re both a fan of Puka Nacua and a decent human being you might not want to read any further — but also you should, because he doesn’t have a right to be free of criticism for engaging in antisemitism.

Nacua made an appearance on Adin Ross’ livestream where he floated a conspiracy theory about referees, and mocked the Kansas City Chiefs for getting eliminated, which is dumb, but whatever. The real story is that Puka reprehensibly vowed to Ross that the next touchdown he scores he will do a “Covetous Jew” dance, which Ross taught Nacua and involves spinning a dreidel, flexing, then rubbing his hands together while mimicking an established antisemitic trope.

Ross has a reputation for both allowing antisemitism on his show, often done under the guise of “joking.” In addition he has a history of hosting guests who espouse antisemitic views, most notably white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes — who has appeared with Ross multiple times. Ross was permanently banned from the streaming platform Twitch in 2023 for failing to have moderators in his chat, while displaying the unmoderated messages on his stream.
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At best Nacua was uneducated about Ross and did something extremely stupid on a livestream. At worst he’s a willing participant in perpetuating stereotypes about the Jewish community, alarmingly less than a week after the attack at Bondi Beach in Australia during a Hanukkah celebration killed 15 people. There is absolutely no excuse either way. Both the Rams and the NFL should look into the incident and demand answers about why one of football’s biggest stars took part in this stream.

So as you can see, Yahoo!Sports reported on the entire story of the livestream. As did USA Today (a publication I generally disdain, but that's another topic).

Not so for everyone.

ESPN reported on the livestream, but just the ref criticism part. Not a word about the antisemitism. Note that ESPN broadcasts Monday Night Football.

ProFootballTalk reported on the livestream, but just the ref criticism part. Not a word about the antisemitism. Note that PFT is owned by NBC, which broadcasts Sunday Night Football.

The Athletic reported on the livestream, but just the ref criticism part. Not a word about the antisemitism. Note that The Athletic is owned by NYT, has beat reporters for each NFL team, and is highly dependent upon inside access for content (also note the NYT has a long history of whitewashing and indulging antisemitism, from Hitler/Nazis to Trump/MAGA and beyond).

And of course NFL.com avoided absolutely everything about this episode, as if it never happened at all. But they did post a puff piece about a Rams VP of something or other, highlighting that she was in fact a woman (if you can believe it!) working for a football team. Plus an article about a different Rams WR's injury status.

[bronxiteforever]

1. Kick for visibility

From the article:
“The real story is that Puka reprehensibly vowed to Ross that the next touchdown he scores he will do a “Covetous Jew” dance, which Ross taught Nacua and involves spinning a dreidel, flexing, then rubbing his hands together while mimicking an established antisemitic trope.”


“Covetous Jew dance” what vile, vile people.

[True Dough]

2. Well,

this is disappointing.

If you're looking for an athlete with redeeming qualities, check out Mick Foley, a retired professional wrestler. Sure, there's as much acting as athleticism involved in pro wrasslin' but Mick Foley has taken a strong and vocal stand against dipshit Trump.

[Drum]

3. How disappointing!

He is an exciting and genuinely talented football player. This makes me really sad. 😞

[Wiz Imp]

4. Sorry, but Nacua is a dishonest piece of shit

How can you not know that a gesture called "the covetous Jew" is anti-Semitic? I'm not buying his plea of ignorance or apology at all.