The United Football League has suspended wide receiver Samson Nacua of the Michigan Panthers for one game without pay for an altercation with a spectator following the Panthers’ game against the St. Louis Battlehawks at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Saturday, April 26. The suspension, which will begin this weekend with the Panthers’ game against the DC Defenders on Sunday, May 4, was announced today by UFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston.
As part of the suspension, Nacua has agreed to participate in community service events to be arranged by the league, which will be determined later this season.
Nacua released this statement to The Detroit News;
“I would like to apologize to the Michigan Panthers, the UFL, and the fans who support our league for my actions on Saturday night following our game against the St. Louis Battlehawks. I truly let my emotions get the best of me and accept the league’s decision completely. To my teammates, I will be supporting you in spirit as you face DC this weekend and look forward to joining you the following week as we look towards the playoffs. I love this game and the people who play beside me. Most of all, I appreciate this league for providing me the opportunity to continue playing the game I love.”
Tee Taua, father of Michigan Panthers RB Toa Taua posted the following on Social media;
We sat right behind them but more in the middle of that section. We were the only Panthers fans in that section behind the Panther bench. I’ve been to hundreds of different stadiums for the NFL, NCAA, and high schools supporting my sons throughout the years. I’ve been heckled and harassed before so I knew not to get involved. Trust me when I say this. There was nobody in that stadium that me and my buddy who is ex special forces would have a problem with. This crowd was by far the nastiest I’ve ever been around. I could hear him clearly from where we sat. It wasn’t just him there was even women screaming at the players about the size of their private parts. People were trying to insult the Panther players with nasty negative comments that had nothing to do with football. A lady from the same fan base sitting a couple seats over from him said something to him about the heckling and his reaction was, “I just like to F with them”. There comes a point when you’re going too far and he was clearly beyond that point when he decided to spit on Nacua.
