Puka Nacua fuels NFL referee ‘rigged’ conspiracy theories with wild admission

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People love a good conspiracy theory, especially if it refers to the NFL. But Puka Nacua has only gone and added fuel to the fire of NFL officials appearing to make calls designed on getting a little more air time on national television.Nacua didn’t hold back when discussing the NFL officialsGettyIn an appearance on a live stream with content creator Adin Ross, the Los Angeles Rams star receiver was asked whether he felt that referees sometimes purposely call things to make themselves a bigger part of the spectacle, to which he did not hold back in his response. “Oh 100 percent,” Nacua said with no hesitation. “Yes the refs are the worst…“These guys are like lawyers, they wanna be on TV too. You don’t think that he’s texting his friends in their group chat like, ‘Did you see me do that on Sunday Night Football?’“Like, ‘That wasn’t PI [pass interference] but I called it’. I mean these guys are normal human beings too.”View Tweet: https://t.co/XpySkdQbEFNFL has made some questionable calls of lateNacua’s frustrations may lie in having been personally affected by some questionable calls.Back in Week 3, the 24-year-old was on the receiving end of a taunting penalty in which he flexed his muscles a couple of feet away from his opponent in celebration of getting a first down in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles.Later in the contest, there was also an argument to be made that the Eagles defender was committing an act of defensive holding or pass interference, but no flag was thrown for either offense as the Rams went on to lose 33-26.Nacua isn’t the only player in the NFL who has been left frustrated by officials’ decision-making not going his way.During the Week 14 clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens – and much of the NFL – were left stunned when Isaiah Likely’s catch in the end zone, which would have been for a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter was overturned as an incompletion.The Ravens wound up losing 27-22.Nacua had been flagged for a ‘taunting’ penalty back in Week 3 after being deemed to have flexed toward his opponentRavens TE Likely’s end zone catch was ruled incomplete after it was deemed that he hadn’t completed the third step of a football moveGettyIn an era of toe taps for touchdowns, the NFL caused quite the stir when they ultimately ruled that Likely had not completed the third step of a football move, having had the ball knocked out of his hand as he was taking that step. “The receiver controlled the ball in the air, had his right foot down, then his left foot down,” NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth explained. “The control is the first aspect of the catch. The second aspect is two feet or a body part in bounds, which he did have. Then the third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass.”Then, during the blockbuster encounter between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots in Week 15, Pats corner Marcus Jones appeared to come down with the ball intended for wide receiver Khalil Shakir.However, the officials called a pass interference on the defense, as well as ruling the play for a catch by Shakir. This put Buffalo in a favorable position to take the lead, despite having trailed the Super Bowl-contending Patriots 21-0 earlier in the contest – the Bills won 35-31. Whether Nacua will face any reprimand for voicing his opinion on the league’s officiating is yet to be determined. Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.