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By Keagan Stiefel
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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua believes this offseason included the “darkest times" in his life.
Nacua, in an interview with Netflix's Elle Duncan that aired prior to his club's season-opening game against the San Francisco 49ers, addressed some of the things that he believes contributed to those dark times -- which included an incident that resulted in a civil lawsuit that is still pending.
“I think I learned that I’m very avoidant of conflict,” Nacua said when discussing his time spent at a holistic rehabilitation center, “which is very interesting due to the football nature of — I would like to say, I play very physical, just avoidant of the things that I know were causing me stress.”
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Nacua believes there were multiple stress factors at play, including a strained relationship with the mother of his child and his desire to continue playing at a high level.
“I think some of the change in lifestyle that came unto me, becoming a public figure, the stress of performing at a high level,” Nacua said. “And then I recently became a father. My son is 10 months old, and navigating that co-parenting relationship with his mother, I would kind of isolate myself to feel, like, the weight of all the issues and things that I have was stuck on my shoulders and not being willing to ask for help. I was never one to share my fears, my worries. I was always finding different ways to escape, I guess, from that tension or that stress.
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How did he cope?
“I think one, alcohol was definitely a thing for me. Just kind of drowning myself, so that the issues and the stress that I was feeling never had the opportunity to be addressed,” Nacua said. “But right when I entered the rehabilitation center, I was able to have open and honest conversations.”
Nacua, who is not only still navigating his co-parenting relationship and looking for a new contract while entering the final year of his rookie deal, but also facing a separate civil lawsuit filed by a woman named Madison Atiabi. According to ESPN, Atiabi alleges that Nacua made an "unprovoked antisemitic statement" and bit her on the shoulder during a New Year's Eve gathering. The suit cites gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence.
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