A former Los Angeles Angels employee has been charged with distributing the fentanyl that contributed to the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs a little over a year ago.
Skaggs, who was 27, died after choking on his own vomit in a hotel room with fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system. A grand jury launched an investigation into Skaggs’ death back in March, and former Angels director of communications Eric Kay was charged on Friday with distributing fentanyl to Skaggs. Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times has more of the details.
Kay had previously admitted to federal investigators that he provided oxycodone to Skaggs and used opioids himself. He also said two other former Angels employees knew about Skaggs’ drug use. The Angels released a statement on Friday saying an internal investigation showed that “no one in management was aware, or informed, of any employee providing opioids to any player, nor that Tyler was using opioids.
The Angels could have faced a significant fine if it was determined that they were aware of Skaggs using opioids. It’s unclear if the league also investigated and came to the same conclusion as the Angels.
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