Eric Kay, the Los Angeles Angels’ staffer who provided Tyler Skaggs with illicit opioid pills, told a Texas detective that years before the pitcher’s death Kay had informed a vice president of the ballclub that he had used drugs with Skaggs, according to testimony Tuesday, Dec. 9 in an ongoing wrongful death trial.
Delaney Green, who investigated Skaggs’ death in a Texas hotel room at the start of an Angels’ road trip in July 2019, confirmed that Kay, in an interview with law enforcement, alleged that he previously had spoken to Tim Mead — a former Angels’ vice president and Kay’s former boss — about his drug ties to Skaggs.
“Did Erik Kay tell you and the DEA that in 2017 he told Tim Mead about using drugs with Tyler Skaggs?” an attorney asked Green during a brief portion of a deposition video shown to jurors on Tuesday morning.
“Yes,” Green responded.
That alleged conversation between Kay and Mead would appear to be the earliest that Angels’ officials were alleged to have been made aware that Kay was providing illicit pain pills to Skaggs. Mead, during his own testimony earlier in the wrongful death trial, denied being aware of the drug ties between Kay and Skaggs until after the pitcher’s death.
Kay brought up the alleged 2017 conversation with Mead during a meeting with law enforcement in which Kay was given the opportunity to tell “his side of the story” in the midst of a criminal probe into Skaggs’ death. Skaggs, prior to his death, snorted a counterfeit pill Kay provided him that contained fentanyl, combined with oxycodone and alcohol.
In testimony later Tuesday, an employment lawyer testifying as a human resources expert on behalf of the Angels said Kay “may have” lied to law enforcement about the alleged 2017 conversation with Mead.
“I don’t believe it was a reliable statement,” Ann Fromholz, the defense expert, testified. “He (Kay) was trying to deflect blame.”
Kay is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted for his role in Skaggs’ death. Jurors in the current civil trial will have to decide whether the Angels knew, or should have known, that Kay was providing pain pills to Skaggs and other players.
Attorneys for the Angels argue that Skaggs kept his addiction secret from the organization, preventing the team from getting him help or saving his life. Mead — along with other current and former members of the Angels front office — have acknowledged being aware of Kay’s at times erratic behavior, but have testified that they believed it was due to his mental health issues and related prescribed medication.
Some former players and lower-level employees in the team clubhouse have testified that Kay’s drug issues were well-known within the organization. Several former players, who have testified either in person or in deposition videos shown to jurors, have admitted to taking opioids distributed by Kay after Skaggs told them they could get the pain pills from Kay. According to evidence presented during the trial, Kay got the opioid pills — which Skaggs and the other players referred to as “Blue Boys” due to their distinctive color — from dealers he met in online forums.
Former Angels pitcher Matt Harvey, during a deposition video shown to jurors on Tuesday morning, admitted giving Skaggs Percocet pills, several of which were found in Skaggs’ hotel room after his death. A defense attorney during Kay’s earlier criminal trial alleged that Skaggs used one of the Percocet pills provided by Harvey along with the counterfeit pill containing fentanyl provided by Kay.
Harvey, in the deposition video, said he was angry at being told at the last minute that he wouldn’t be going on the team road trip to Texas in which Skaggs died. Harvey said that out of frustration, he asked Kay for a pill before the team left for Texas. A pill was left in his locker, Harvey said, adding that he never took it and threw it out after learning that Skaggs had died.
“When Tyler Skaggs passed away, did Eric Kay ever tell you ‘don’t take that pill’? asked Daniel Dutko, one of the attorneys representing the Skaggs family.
“No,” Harvey responded.
“Did Erik Kay ever tell you ‘Be careful, that pill may have something in it’?” the attorney asked.
“No,” Harvey said.
“Is that scary to you?”
“I’ve definitely had some time to look back and realize the possibility that if I took the pill the results could have been awful.”
The illicit drug use was known enough at the time that some players would indirectly reference it, Harvey testified.
“There were some jokes about it from other players,” Harvey said. “I don’t know which ones. But there was some talk and jokes about the ‘Blue B’s’ or whatever.”
Another witness called on behalf of the Angels on Tuesday refuted allegations that team officials were told months before Skaggs death that Kay had pills for Skaggs.
Kays’ ex-wife, Camela Kay, testified earlier in the trial that Kay’s sister told her that pills they saw fall out of his pocket were for Skaggs. Camela Kay said she relayed the alleged conversation — which the wife said took place on Easter 2019, the same day Eric Kay was hospitalized for drug use — to Tom Taylor, a traveling secretary for the Angels.
But Eric Kay’s sister, Kelly Miller, denied that her brother said anything to her about having drugs for Kay. The sister testified that “that conversation never happened.”
“Did you tell Camela Kay anything about Eric Kay and Tyler Skaggs and drugs or anything of the sort?” asked Todd Theodora, one of the attorneys for the Angels.
“I did not,” Miller said.
An attorney representing the Skaggs family implied through her questioning that Miller was attempting to protect her brother.
“You would do anything to defend Eric, right?” Attorney Leah Graham asked.
“Yes,” Miller said.
“You would do anything to have his back?” the attorney asked.
“With integrity, yes,” the sister responded.
Fromholz, the employment attorney and defense HR expert who also testified Tuesday, defended the Angels against allegations that they failed to properly handle Kay’s apparent drug use. Dealing with a long-term employee with a drug addiction is a “complicated situation,” Fromholz said, since addiction is considered a disability under state employment law.
“California is the most protective state, in the whole country, of workers,” Fromholz said. “The flip side, of course, is it makes it very complicated for employers. Employers have to step very carefully” when it comes to workers.”
The day ended with Frank Coonelly, a former Major League Baseball legal counsel and former Pittsburgh Pirates president, who praised the Angels handling of Kay’s drug issues. Kay was treated by the Angels’ employee assistance program director and clinical sports psychologist. That doctor was the Angels’ point person related to MLB’s drug treatment program, though MLB officials have denied knowing about Kay’s drug issues.
The trial will continue Wednesday in a Orange County Superior Courtroom. Testimony in the trial — which has lasted two months so far — is expected to wrap by the end of the week.