A color photograph released this week by the attorney for Madison Atiabi shows visible teeth imprints on her shoulder — the injury she says Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua inflicted on New Year’s Eve — in sharper detail than a black-and-white version previously filed with a California court.
Attorney Joseph Kar provided the image to The California Post on Tuesday. USA TODAY Sports first reported the new photograph. The color version reveals the wound more clearly than the grayscale image that Atiabi and Kar submitted as evidence in March when they sought a restraining order against Nacua. In the new photo, individual tooth marks are visible and the bite appears to have broken deeper into the skin than the earlier image suggested.
Kar said Atiabi received a tetanus shot after the incident. “The mouth is one of the dirtiest places on the planet given the amount of bacteria we have as humans,” Kar said. He added that Atiabi “has also suffered severe emotional distress and mental anguish and is being treated.”
The bite occurred on December 31, when Atiabi and Nacua were out in Los Angeles with mutual friends. After dinner, the group was traveling in the back of a sprinter van. Atiabi alleges Nacua latched onto her shoulder during the ride. Nacua, through his attorney Levi McCathern, acknowledged the bite but characterized it as mutual “horseplay.” Kar and Atiabi deny that characterization.
Atiabi is suing Nacua for gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence. In mid-April, she withdrew the restraining order request to concentrate on the civil case, which remains ongoing.
On the criminal side, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office investigated the incident for possible misdemeanor charges. In May, a spokesperson said the matter had been assigned to a City Attorney Hearing — described as “a pre-filing diversion available to eligible individuals that is an alternative to misdemeanor criminal prosecution.” That route typically allows the subject to avoid a formal criminal charge if certain conditions are met.
Nacua entered a rehabilitation facility in the weeks following the incident. On May 28, he told reporters he had grown from the experience and the therapy that followed.
The Rams have not publicly addressed the lawsuit. Nacua is entering his fourth NFL season after a 2023 rookie campaign that set the league’s single-season receptions record for a first-year player.