ASU star Cam Skattebo sued by former teammate over golf cart accident

In May, a former Arizona State football walk-on sued the school and the Arizona Board of Regents over injuries he allegedly suffered from a golf cart accident after a 2023 practice. Now the former player, offensive lineman Mattheos Katergaris, has updated his lawsuit to name star Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo as a defendant, saying Skattebo's actions were "the actual and proximate cause" of his injuries.

It is unclear if Skattebo, who will participate in the NFL Combine this week in Indianapolis, has been served with the lawsuit. Phoenix New Times attempted to reach Skattebo for comment via ASU and through his marketing agency, Range Media Partners, but has not heard back. Katergaris' attorney, Neil Udulutch, declined to comment.

Skattebo shot to prominence last season as ASU won the Big 12 Championship in its first season in the conference and advanced to the 12-team College Football Playoff. A transfer from Sacramento State before the 2023 season, Skattebo earned a reputation as a punishing runner. He finished fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy last year.

Katergaris was not on ASU's roster last year. He was a prep standout at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. He did not see game action during his first season in 2022 but did serve on ASU's scout team, according to the program's website.

‘Jumped up and down’

According to the lawsuit, the golf cart accident occurred on July 31, 2023. Katergaris and another player were seated in the back seat of the cart used to ferry players from the team's practice facility to the locker room. Per the suit, "on or around" the day before, the team had been instructed "about the proper use of golf carts" and "explicitly told" that the rear seat had a limit of 600 pounds or two people.

The suit says a third player, Skattebo, "then jumped on the back of the golf cart" and "jumped up and down on the rear bench as the golf cart traveled a considerable distance. Subsequently, the rear bench of the golf cart structurally failed." Katergaris fell from the cart and "sustained serious bodily injury, which resulted in months of medical care."

Katergaris is suing Skattebo and the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees ASU, on one negligence count each. The suit says that "Skattebo owed (Katergaris) a duty of care to act in a way that did not cause the golf cart to become structurally unstable." Katergaris is claiming damages of at least $300,000, per the complaint.

While Skattebo has yet to respond in court, the Board of Regents filed an answer on Feb. 11. While it denies much of Katergaris' complaint, the board's answer "admits it has reason to believe Defendant Skattebo boarded the back of the golf cart while two other players were sitting on the rear section" and "admits that the rear bench of the golf cart broke."

Among the affirmative defenses listed in the board's answer are that Katergaris "over-treated and/or incurred unnecessary and/or unreasonable expenses" in his medical care and the board "has already paid for some or all" of the former player's treatment.