The Los Angeles Angels would like to shift the focus of fans and media to the games currently happening on the field, but unfortunately the Angels keep doing Angels things.
First it was owner Arte Moreno’s comments about fans supposedly caring about the “affordability” of the ballpark experience more than winning. Now the family of late outfielder Tyler Skaggs is speaking out about the team after reaching a settlement with the Angels in their civil suit trial, which concluded in December and included wild accusations from both sides about the circumstances behind Skaggs' death from a fentanyl overdose back in July of 2019.
Sam Blum of The Athletic interviewed Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his mother, Debbie, and once again their comments were incendiary. The Skaggs family is required to keep the financial terms of the settlement confidential, but apparently there’s no “non-disparagement agreement,” to use Blum’s term for a hypothetical gag order that might have prevented the ongoing back and forth between the two sides. In addition to the issues the Skaggs faced during the trial, the outfielder's father, Darrell Skaggs, died a week after the trial following a lengthy illness.
“They tried to cover it up,” Debbie said, referring to the drug use by former Angels employee Eric Kay that they claimed was known about tacitly ignored by the team as he allegedly made drugs available to various team members. “I hope that MLB investigates it. I don’t want this to happen to any other player in any organization.”
“MLB’s legal staff obtained the full transcript for the entire trial,” a league spokesperson told The Athletic. “They are in the process of reviewing and assessing the information.”
What shocked Debbie Skaggs the most, according to Blum’s account was the Angels’ strategies and conduct throughout the trial, which the writer described as “the saga.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that somebody who is in their organization, who was so loved by the community, was so loved by the Angels family, that they would take Tyler and throw him under the bus. Basically, that’s what they did. It’s almost like, ‘We don’t care. … Forget about Tyler,’” Debbie said.
Angels spokesperson Marie Garvey declined to comment.
“We’re not going to rehash this,” she said, and Garvey referred to the team’s previous statement at the conclusion of the trial.
“The death of Tyler Skaggs remains a tragedy, and this trial sheds light on the dangers of opioid use and the devastating effects it can have,” the team said.
The Angels’ trial strategy was to portray Kay positively, and Skaggs as a “reckless” drug abuser, Blum added, with the plaintiffs as enablers who knew about his drug use but did little to stop it.
Both Debbie and Carli Skaggs were called to the stand multiple times, with Angels lawyers cross-examining them for hours. Carli Skaggs new that her texts to her mother were theoretically discoverable, Blum says, even in the middle of the trial, so she had to be careful about that particular form of communication.
“I don’t think Carli and I have ever backed away from the fact that Ty has some personal responsibility for taking the pill,” Debbie said. “However, Tyler never consented to taking a pill laced with fentanyl. There’s a huge difference.
“The fact that (Kay’s) going out on the streets and buying pills, that’s pretty scary. All he had to tell the players is, ‘No, I can’t get anything.’ And then it’d be done, and Tyler would still be here.”
The trial may be technically done, but players who were involved in the situation will face additional questions about this, most notably outfielder Mike Trout, whose testimony during the trial was both awkward and uncomfortable. Blum also added that Carli Skaggs wanted a verdict, but it was Debbie who made the final call to take the settlement when they couldn’t reach a consensus.