The civil trial concerning the 2019 overdose death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs took a dramatic turn on Monday as Camela Kay, the ex-wife of a team employee, provided key testimony. She described witnessing players and clubhouse personnel engaging in drug and alcohol use while aboard the team plane. Kay’s statements are central to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ family, which seeks to hold the Angels accountable for the circumstances leading to his death.
In a Southern California courtroom, Kay recounted her experiences traveling on the Angels team plane with her then-husband Eric Kay, who was convicted for supplying drugs that contributed to Skaggs’ fatal overdose. “They’re treated like kings,” she remarked about the players’ behavior, noting that she observed them passing around pills and consuming alcohol excessively during flights.
This trial highlights significant issues surrounding the culture within the team, with Kay alleging that Eric Kay, who served as the team’s communications director, had access to players and was involved in drug distribution. The Angels have responded, asserting that team officials were unaware of Skaggs’ drug use and that any illicit activities occurred outside of team supervision.
Kay expressed her growing concern about her husband’s drug use, stating that family members staged an intervention in 2017 due to his erratic behavior. Following this intervention, she reported that two team officials visited their home and removed plastic baggies containing white pills from their bedroom. “Him being in the clubhouse with the players, my guess would be he is supplying to them,” she stated, indicating her fears regarding the potential implications of Eric Kay’s drug involvement.
The tragic backdrop of the trial is the death of Tyler Skaggs, who was found unresponsive in a hotel room in suburban Dallas on July 1, 2019, just before a scheduled game against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report revealed that Skaggs choked on his vomit, with a toxicology report indicating the presence of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system. In 2022, Eric Kay was convicted of providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and was subsequently sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The Skaggs family is pursuing $118 million in damages, which includes claims for lost earnings, pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the Angels. The trial, which is expected to last several weeks, has already featured testimony from key figures, including Angels outfielder Mike Trout and other team employees.
In response to the ongoing issues related to substance abuse in baseball, Major League Baseball (MLB) established new testing protocols for opioids following Skaggs’ death. The league now requires players who test positive for such substances to be referred to treatment programs.
As the trial continues, Camela Kay is scheduled to provide further testimony, which may shed additional light on the events leading up to Skaggs’ tragic death and the responsibilities of the Angels organization in this case.
