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Sarah Barshop
A number of Authors
LOS ANGELES — A lady in Los Angeles has filed a civil lawsuit towards Puka Nacua alleging the Rams huge receiver made an “unprovoked antisemitic assertion” and later bit her on the shoulder.
The lawsuit cites gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence.
The plaintiff, Madison Atiabi, alleged the occasions occurred on New 12 months’s Eve in Century Metropolis. Within the courtroom doc obtained by ESPN, Atiabi stated Nacua stated, “f— all of the Jews,” and that she “instantly felt uncomfortable and emotionally distressed” due to her Jewish religion.
Later within the lawsuit, Atiabi stated she was in a automobile with Nacua when he “forcibly” bit her on the left shoulder, “leaving a round imprint of his tooth on her physique.” The lawsuit additionally alleges Nacua bit her good friend’s thumb within the automobile “with such power that her companion screamed in acute ache.”
The girl filed for a short lived restraining order, however that request was denied. A listening to is scheduled for April 14, based on a number of stories.
The information of the lawsuit was first reported by TMZ. Nacua’s lawyer, Levi McCathern, stated in an announcement obtained by ABC Information that Nacua denies the allegations within the lawsuit “within the strongest doable phrases” and that he has video proof that “underscores” that “Atiabi’s conduct and actions are inconsistent with the allegations being made.”
McCathern stated within the assertion that “a number of sober witnesses have acknowledged unequivocally that Puka by no means made the feedback Ms. Atiabi claims” and known as it “a blatant lie.”
He described Nacua biting Atiabi’s shoulder as “horseplay” to the Los Angeles Times.
“Within the months that adopted, our workplace was contacted with calls for for hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in trade for not publicizing these allegations,” McCathern stated within the assertion obtained by ABC Information. “That’s not a legit authorized declare — it’s blackmail.”
McCathern stated he will likely be submitting a defamation lawsuit on behalf of Nacua towards Atiabi and will likely be “pursuing all accessible authorized treatments in response to those false and damaging statements.”
The lawsuit comes days after Seattle Seahawks huge receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba agreed to a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid huge receiver in NFL historical past. Nacua, who simply accomplished his third season within the NFL in 2025, is also eligible for a contract extension this offseason.
“The timing of the claimant’s current authorized motion — over three months after the alleged incident and simply days after JSN’s report breaking contract as a large receiver — additional underscores the whole lack of credibility behind these accusations,” McCathern stated within the assertion obtained by ABC Information.
ESPN additionally has reached out to Nacua’s agent for remark.
In December, Nacua issued a statement apologizing for performing a gesture on an web livestream that was “antisemitic in nature and perpetuated dangerous stereotypes towards Jewish folks.”
Nacua made the gesture on a livestream with two web streamers, who urged he carry out the gesture as a part of his subsequent landing celebration. Within the assertion, Nacua stated “on the time he had no thought” of the character of the gesture, which has been related to antisemitic themes.
On the time of the December incident, the Rams launched an announcement saying, “There isn’t a place on this world for Antisemitism in addition to different types of prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish folks and other people of any faith, ethnicity, or race.”
