Giants' Cam Skattebo says CTE isn't real: 'I think it's an excuse'

Giants running back Cam Skattebo isn’t shy about being himself, but his recent comments about CTE created some controversy.

On a March 12 episode of the “Bring The Juice” podcast, Skattebo told host Frank Dalena that he thinks CTE, a brain disease caused by repeated head trauma, isn’t real and just an excuse. Videos of the exchange went viral this weekend.

“Do you think CTE is a real thing?” Dalena asked.

“No,” Skattebo replied.

“I don’t think so either,” Dalena responded.

To which Skattebo said, “I think it’s an excuse.”

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, has been linked to boxers, soccer players and other athletes when studying their brain tissue after they have died. It’s been prominently linked to football players since 2002, when Dr. Bennet Omalu diagnosed it during an autopsy of Steelers center Mike Webster.

In 2023, the Boston University CTE Center announced that 345 of 376 players’ brains they studied were found to have had CTE.

After Skattebo’s comments, Dalena told him he believed asthma also is an excuse. Skattebo agreed, saying it’s fake.

“Is there anything worse than when you’re in fourth grade [and] someone’s huffing and puffing, ‘I have asthma,’ ” Dalena said. “You’re just soft.”

“Yeah,” Skattebo said. “Just literally, breathe the air.”

Late Saturday evening, Skattebo issued an apology on his Instagram story feed. “I recently did an interview and had a lapse in judgment, which resulted in me making a tasteless joke about CTE and asthma,” he said. “It was never my intention to downplay the seriousness of head injuries or asthma. I sincerely apologize to anyone that was offended by my remarks and I assure you that I’ll be more mindful and respectful going forward. MUCH LOVE!!!”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.