New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo apologized for a “lapse in judgment” after he said CTE was not real and asthma was “fake.”

Skattebo appeared on the “Bring the Juice” podcast when he was asked if CTE was “a real thing,” and he replied that it was “an excuse.” 

He also implored “soft” asthmatics to “just breathe air.”

“I recently did an interview and had a lapse in judgment, which resulted in me making a tasteless joke about CTE and asthma. It was never my intention to downplay the seriousness of head injuries or asthma,” Skattebo wrote on his Instagram story Saturday after the clip began to go viral. 

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“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!!!”

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive, degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts rather than a single injury, according to the Mayo Clinic. More than 100 former NFL players have been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, according to a University of Utah study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

The New York Giants’ Cam Skattebo reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles in East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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The running back became an instant fan favorite last season, scoring seven touchdowns in as many games while showing off his bulldozing abilities before a gruesome ankle injury cut his season short.

Skattebo’s quarterback, Jaxson Dart, was checked for concussions at least five times throughout the season and even missed two games after being diagnosed with one. Skattebo was once fined for entering the medical tent while Dart was being evaluated.

Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo of the New York Giants walk off the field after winning a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium Oct. 9, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

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The Giants hired John Harbaugh in the offseason after he was let go by the Baltimore Ravens after 18 seasons with them. New York fired Brian Daboll, who was named the NFL Coach of the Year in his first year with Big Blue, during the season.

Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed to this report.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Paul Mainieri is out as South Carolina’s baseball coach midway through his second season after he couldn’t approach the level of success he had produced at LSU.

Mainieri, 68, who won a College World Series with LSU in 2009, had been away from the game for three years before South Carolina lured him out of retirement. The Gamecocks went 28-29 last year in Mainieri’s debut season. They’re 12-11 so far this season.

South Carolina lost 22-6 to Arkansas on Friday for its sixth consecutive defeat. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 0-4 in Southeastern Conference play.

“[Athletic director] Jeremiah Donati and I have agreed that the baseball program will be better served with new leadership,” Mainieri said Saturday in a statement released by the university. “I take full responsibility for the win/loss record of the baseball program over the 80 games I have served as head coach.

“When [former athletic director] Ray Tanner invited me to come out of three years of retirement to coach again, my goal was to work with young people again and restore the South Carolina program to greatness with a return to Omaha. My staff and I have worked diligently in an attempt to accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, that goal has not materialized as quickly as I would have liked and will take more time than I had anticipated and that is time that I just don’t have at my age.”

Donati said he and Mainieri had a conversation Saturday and agreed this move would be in the best interest of the program. Mainieri said: “I did not get the job done at a level that I expected, or the university deserves.”

Mainieri has a 1,545-817-8 record in a 39-year head coaching career. He went 179-121-2 at St. Thomas from 1983-88, 152-158 at Air Force from 1989 to ’94, 533-213-3 at Notre Dame from 1995 to 2006 and 641-285-3 at LSU from 2007 to ’21 before posting a 40-40 record in his 1½ seasons at South Carolina.

He ranks sixth in NCAA history in career wins. He made College World Series appearances with Notre Dame in 2002 and LSU in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017. His 2009 LSU team won it all and his 2017 squad was the CWS runner-up.

“I appreciate everything Paul has poured into our student-athletes and our program, not just at South Carolina, but throughout his career,” Donati said in a statement. “He is a Hall of Fame coach and a world-class individual, and we wish him and his family all the best.”

BRIGHTON, England — Arne Slot has said Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion “hurts a lot” and admitted his team’s form this season has not been good enough.

Danny Welbeck struck twice at the Amex to secure all three points for the hosts, dealing Liverpool a huge blow in the race for Champions League qualification.

“Of course now looking at the league table, this loss hurts a lot and it should hurt us a lot,” Slot said. “But the main problem is that we are in this position because we dropped a point at Wolves in the last minute from a deflected shot. That [Tottenham] goal last week in the 90th minute is, I would say, even a bigger problem than losing away at Brighton.”

Liverpool were without both Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker for their trip to the south coast, while Hugo Ekitike was substituted with an injury early in the first half.

Asked whether he expects outsiders to have sympathy with his team considering the £450 million ($602M) it spent in last summer’s transfer window, Slot said: “No, I have complete sympathy with that for all the people who are saying this because no one in England is used to the fact that there are also clubs that are selling players.

“So usually in England when a club is buying £450 million like we did, that’s adding that to the already great team you are having.

“But this club has a different model and no one wants to see that and no one wants to understand this, that I can also understand because fans of other teams and certain pundits don’t want to tell you that we sold for £300 million ($401M).

“Then, the £150 million ($201M) player is never available. That’s already one thing, and Giovanni Leoni has never been available because of his injury. That’s already the second thing, and now we’re already going underneath what we’ve sold. Jeremie Frimpong is recently much more available and Mamardashvili was one of the signings, the second goalkeeper.

“But, yes, it makes complete sense if you win the league last season and you spent £450 million that the expectations are high, and those expectations were high for the pundits, for the media, for me, for the fans. At our club we’re also looking at the situation and the challenge we had during this season, and then we might be a bit more realistic, why the season has gone why it is gone. But still it’s not good enough no matter how much excuses I can come up with, it’s still not good enough for the position you’re in right now.”

Asked for an update on Liverpool’s absentees, Slot added: “Alisson definitely out during international break. Hugo could play tomorrow if he needed to. It was a dead leg.

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“Brighton did what we expected, if you face a team that has only had 62 hours of rest. The first thing they did was make it an intense game. There was nothing wrong with the duels but unfortunately there was a collision and that led to Hugo going out.

“After two minutes, dealing without Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Hugo… we have to find a way of playing players in positions they’re not used to. We did this quite well in the first half but as the game on, Brighton became stronger and stronger.

“Throughout the second half, they were closer to 3-1 than we were to making it 2-2.”