Craig Carton has gone hard at Puka Nacua after fresh legal allegations brought the Rams star back into the spotlight, with the radio host framing the issue as bigger than one off-field mistake.
The case is sensitive and still unresolved, but it has reignited scrutiny around Nacua because the new claims arrived not long after a separate anti-Semitism-related controversy.
That wider context is what turned Carton’s reaction from criticism into a full-scale rant. It also means the story is no longer being judged in isolation.
Craig Carton unloads on Puka Nacua after fresh legal allegations
Carton delivered the rant while reacting to the new accusations surrounding Puka Nacua.
“If you uttered the words, ‘I hate all effing Jews,’ and there’s a witness to it, and you bit the witness, you got yourself a problem.
“Now, can you have a career? Yes you can. Can a team hire you? Yes, they can,” Carton said.
Carton’s point was not framed around whether Nacua can still play in the NFL. It was about how serious the allegations would be if proven, especially given the nature of the language involved and the physical accusation attached to it.
That is why the reaction landed with such force, because the claim touches both conduct and antisemitism at the same time.
Puka Nacua’s antisemitism scrutiny grew after a livestream apology and now faces fresh allegations
Nacua is currently facing civil allegations from Madison Atiabi, who accuses him of making an antisemitic remark during a New Year’s Eve outing and later biting her shoulder; Nacua’s attorney has denied the allegations, called them false, and said he intends to countersue for defamation.
A judge also temporarily denied Atiabi’s restraining-order request pending a later hearing, which means the underlying claims remain disputed and unresolved.
“Will the NFL suspend you? Maybe, maybe not. They may not get involved at all. But he’s also a dingbat. He’s a dumb jock. That’s all he is, and now he might be anti-semitic too,” Carton further stated.
The allegations also land in the shadow of a separate December 2025 controversy, when Nacua apologized after performing what he described as an antisemitic gesture on a livestream and said he “had no idea” what it meant.
That earlier episode is part of why this latest case has been judged so harshly in public, even though the current legal claims are still contested.
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