Watching New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skattebo’s headbutt celebration will feel a little uncomfortable in 2026.
Skattebo recently joined the *Bring The Juice*podcast with Frank Dalena. Their conversation was only 18 minutes long, but that was all Skattebo needed to spew nonsense about CTE.
At the 4:55 mark, Dalena asked Skattebo whether he believes “CTE is a real thing.” Skattebo responded, “No. It’s an excuse.”
For reasons unclear, Dalena followed that up with, “I think asthma is an excuse, too. Is that a hot take?” Skattebo said, “No, that’s a good take. Asthma is fake.” Skattebo added, “Just literally breathe air.”
This should not need clarification, but for anyone confused, asthma and CTE are medically and scientifically proven conditions.
Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the airways, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is “a neurodegenerative disorder that seems to be connected to repetitive head injuries,” according to the American Brain Foundation, and CTE can only be definitively diagnosed post-mortem.
In 2016, the NFL acknowledged a connection between “football-related head trauma” and the subsequent development of CTE, as reported by ESPN’s Steve Fainaru at the time.
Several former NFL players have been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, such as Junior Seau, Aaron Hernandez, Vincent Jackson, and Demaryius Thomas. In 2023, the Boston University CTE Center announced a CTE diagnosis for 345 out of 376 former NFL players studied.
“The NFL player data should not be interpreted to suggest that 91.7 percent of all current and former NFL players have CTE, as brain bank samples are subject to selection biases,” the published study read, in part. “The prevalence of CTE among NFL players is unknown, as CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death. Repetitive head impacts appear to be the chief risk factor for CTE, which is characterized by misfolded tau protein that is unlike changes observed from aging, Alzheimer's disease, or any other brain disease.”
While CTE research is ongoing, we can definitively conclude that Skattebo was wrong to dismiss CTE as “an excuse.” Skattebo’s Bring The Juice episode went live on March 12, but Skattebo’s CTE comments went viral on Saturday.
Predictably, NFL fans and reporters alike were quick to criticize Skattebo on X (formerly Twitter) for his harmful take, regardless of whether it was in jest, as seen here.
The Giants drafted Skattebo out of Arizona State in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Skattebo rushed for 410 yards and five touchdowns before suffering an ankle dislocation, a fractured tibia, and a ruptured deltoid ligament in Week 8.
Earlier this month, Skattebo joined The Rich Eisen Show and defended his and Dart’s physical playing style. Of note, Dart was evaluated for a concussion in five of 10 games as a rookie last year (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). Eisen expressed concern over Dart seeking out contact and wished he would avoid big hits in certain situations.
“That’s not an option for us,” Skattebo said. “I think we both think the same way. Like, if it’s 4th-and-1 and we’ve got to dive to get it or run through someone’s face, that’s what we do. The kid’s a dawg. He loves the game. He wants to get first downs. He wants to score touchdowns. He knows that if it’s 4th-and-1, or if it’s 3rd-and-8, and we need two more yards on running somebody over, he’s gonna do that.”
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