Family of Tyler Skaggs, Angels clash as wrongful-death trial opens

Four years after Tyler Skaggs' widow and parents sued the Los Angeles Angels over his drug- and alcohol-related death during a 2019 road trip, both sides delivered lengthy opening statements on Tuesday in a California courtroom, with each side blaming the other.

Attorney Shawn Holley, representing the Skaggs family in this civil trial, accused the Angels of continuing to employ team communications director Eric Kay, who had struggled with addiction for years before reportedly distributing pills to Skaggs and other players.

Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, in a Texas hotel room the night before the Angels began a three-game series with the Texas Rangers. Toxicology reports indicated he had taken a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl (provided by Kay), along with oxycodone and about 12 drinks. The Skaggs family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $118 million to cover the projected income of the 27-year-old left-hander, as well as other damages.

"Tyler Skaggs died alone in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas," Holley said, according to the Orange County Register. "He died because the Angels, in violation of their own policies, allowed a drug user, a drug addict and a drug dealer to remain employed... they did nothing about it. They buried their heads in the sand over and over again. And as a result, Tyler Skaggs is dead."

The defense, represented by Angels' attorney Todd Theodora, pointed to the substances found in Skaggs' body and drew a different conclusion.

"Angels baseball did not know that Tyler had a drug problem or that Eric Kay was distributing drugs to any player," Theodora said, per the Register. "Period. End of story."

"Tyler Skaggs was playing Russian Roulette that night with drinking that much alcohol and snorting that much illicit pills. As sad as it is, as tragic as it is, Tyler was a drug addict."

Each attorney spoke for more than 50 minutes to lay out their respective views. Testimony is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, with current and former players among the witnesses expected to testify.

In 2022, Kay was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in Skaggs' overdose. Kay, who was in Skaggs' hotel room at some point during the night he died, was convicted of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

--Field Level Media