In a civil trial regarding the overdose death of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, his ex-wife, Camela Kay, testified on Monday that she witnessed players and clubhouse attendants consuming pills and alcohol while partying on the team plane. Kay’s testimony highlighted the culture surrounding the team, which she described as one where players were “treated like kings.”
Kay recounted her experiences traveling on the Angels’ team plane with her then-husband, Eric Kay, who was convicted of supplying drugs that contributed to Skaggs’ death in 2019. She said players were often engaged in card games, gambling, and excessive drinking. “I had seen them passing out pills or drinking alcohol excessively,” she stated in a Southern California courtroom.
This trial centers on a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ family, asserting that the Angels organization should be held liable for permitting a drug-addicted team communications director to remain employed and have access to players. The Angels have maintained that team officials were unaware of Skaggs’ drug use and that any drug activities involving him and Eric Kay occurred during personal time.
Kay expressed her concerns about her then-husband’s drug issues, observing erratic behavior that prompted family members to stage an intervention in 2017. The following day, she reported, two team officials visited their home and discovered plastic baggies containing white pills in the bedroom. This revelation deepened her fears that Eric Kay was not only battling substance abuse himself but also supplying drugs to players.
“Him being in the clubhouse with the players, my guess would be he is supplying to them,” she said, reflecting on the environment in which her husband operated.
The trial unfolds more than six years after Skaggs, then 27 years old, was found dead in a hotel room in suburban Dallas, where he was set to play against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report revealed that he died from choking on his vomit, with a toxic combination of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone detected in his system. Eric Kay was convicted in 2022 for providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and received a 22-year prison sentence.
During his federal trial in Texas, five Major League Baseball (MLB) players testified that they had received oxycodone from Eric Kay between 2017 and 2019, the period during which he was accused of distributing pills to Angels players. Skaggs had been a consistent member of the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016, facing repeated injuries throughout his career, which began with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Skaggs’ family is seeking $118 million in damages, claiming lost earnings, compensation for pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the Angels. Following Skaggs’ death, Major League Baseball reached an agreement with the players’ association to implement opioid testing and provide referrals for treatment to players who test positive.
The trial is anticipated to last several weeks and has already included testimonies from prominent figures, including Angels outfielder Mike Trout, along with various team employees. As this significant case unfolds, it continues to shed light on the complexities of substance abuse within professional sports.
