OC Register: Angels PR official who reportedly supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs explains why he cooperated with DEA

[AngelsWin.com]

Angels media relations official Eric Kay, who reportedly provided Tyler Skaggs with opioids for years leading up to the pitcher’s death, on Sunday issued a statement about his cooperation with federal authorities in the case.

“Watching and reading the sordid details of my own weaknesses unfold on the national stage has been nothing short of horrible,” Kay said in the statement released to ESPN, which a day earlier had been the first to publish details of the drug connection with Skaggs. “However, I am aware and respectful of the fact that my pain is entirely insignificant compared to the pain that the Skaggs’ family is feeling and will continue to feel for the rest of their lives.

“I made the decision to cooperate with law enforcement because I felt that it was the right thing to do. That is all I can do from this point on, if it comes with public shame and derision, I accept that.”

Kay’s attorney, Michael Molfetta, also told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that he expected Kay to eventually be charged in California or Texas. Molfetta refused comment to the Southern California News Group on Saturday and did not immediately reply to a message on Sunday.

Kay has been on a leave from the Angels since July, shortly after Skaggs death.

Skaggs died on July 1 in his Southlake, Texas, hotel room after choking on his own vomit. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner determined that Skaggs’ blood contained oxycodone and fentanyl, highly addictive opioids, along with alcohol.

Shortly after the medical examiner’s report was released, Skaggs’ family released a statement suggesting that a member of the Angels organization had a part in Skaggs’ drug use.

That person was publicly identified by ESPN on Saturday as Kay, a 45-year-old who had worked in the Angels media relations department for 24 years. ESPN reported that Kay had told officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration that he and Skaggs had used opioids together for years.

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Kay reportedly told the DEA that he had supplied Skaggs with oxycodone pills a few days before the Angels left for their trip to Texas on June 30. Kay said he didn’t believe that the pills he supplied were the ones that Skaggs ingested the night before he died, because Skaggs normally ingested the pills shortly after receiving them, according to ESPN.

Kay was with the team on the trip to Texas, and reportedly witnessed Skaggs using the drugs in his hotel room the night before he died.

Kay also reportedly told the DEA that two Angels officials — former vice president in charge of communications Tim Mead and traveling secretary Tom Taylor — were aware of Skaggs’ drug use. Kay also reportedly gave the DEA the names of five other players who he believed used opioids while with the Angels.

Mead and Taylor both denied any knowledge of Skaggs’ drug use, and the Angels issued a statement saying that no one in the organization had been aware of drug use by Skaggs or any other player.

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[Lou]

BULLSHIT ALERT!

[yamsi12]

Kay should be tossed into a wood chipper.

[Claude]

11 minutes ago, Lou said:

BULLSHIT ALERT!

None of us have any proof about who knew what. It could be bullshit or he could be coming clean with everything. Kay obviously doesn’t want to get 100% of the blame. If others knew about it, it will certainly impact the entire investigation. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

13 minutes ago, Calzone 2 said:

None of us have any proof about who knew what. It could be bullshit or he could be coming clean with everything. Kay obviously doesn’t want to get 100% of the blame. If others knew about it, it will certainly impact the entire investigation. 

Heres the thing. Whether someone else knew or not, its still different than participating / helping etc.

Personally, I dont point the finger at all if anyone else knew. Plenty of these guys do something shady on their own time. 

Kay is different because he helped the cause, so to speak. And I doubt Kay told the team "skaggs is using, and I know because im his connect."

[ten ocho recon scout]

Also, i didnt mention it before. But this played a huge role in the collapse in the 2cd half. This thing has been known to the club for months. Like a huge black cloud.

[Claude]

25 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Heres the thing. Whether someone else knew or not, its still different than participating / helping etc.

Personally, I dont point the finger at all if anyone else knew. Plenty of these guys do something shady on their own time. 

Kay is different because he helped the cause, so to speak. And I doubt Kay told the team "skaggs is using, and I know because im his connect."

I don’t know if Mead knew but it also depends on the timing. Kay claims it had been happening for a few years. If Mead knew about it but found out while he was walking out the door then I couldn’t blame Mead for any of this. But we don’t know if Mead was even aware. It just has me puzzled that if it was going on for years that team doctors and or trainers didn’t know. Someone had to know about it but everyone is going to conveniently clam up. 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Calzone 2

[failos]

Angels sure know how to pick em

[Troll Daddy]

Have the five other players been mentioned yet?

[Broad Street]

I’d be willing to bet money that Josh Hamilton was one of those 5 players...

[Lou]

2 hours ago, failos said:

Angels sure know how to pick em

[failos]

9 hours ago, Lou said:

Ha, Was referring to Kay

[T.G.]

A lot of addicts are good liars.  Well, maybe "good" is the wrong word.  A lot of addicts are just liars. It's part of who they are. This guy is no different.

Edited October 14, 2019 by True Grich

[T.G.]

Something about this reminds me of...

 

What's the saying?  Something, something... pants on fire?

Edited October 14, 2019 by True Grich

[ukyah]

16 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

Have the five other players been mentioned yet?

they're not allowed to be identified per mlb. something most don't know is that the mlb drug policy is treatment oriented. if an employee covered under that contract is a drug user, they are enrolled in an mlb treatment program. they are not punished and will not be punished as long as they are an active participant in their recovery, regardless of relapses. the only time they will be subject to any kind of penalty is if they stop attending/participating in the recovery program.

this is one of the rare scenarios where there won't be a leak. if those names come out, somebody's in a lot of trouble.

[GrittyVeterans]

I don't believe anything the guy says

[Inside Pitch]

18 minutes ago, ukyah said:

they're not allowed to be identified per mlb. something most don't know is that the mlb drug policy is treatment oriented. if an employee covered under that contract is a drug user, they are enrolled in an mlb treatment program. they are not punished and will not be punished as long as they are an active participant in their recovery, regardless of relapses. the only time they will be subject to any kind of penalty is if they stop attending/participating in the recovery program.

this is one of the rare scenarios where there won't be a leak. if those names come out, somebody's in a lot of trouble.

People have already looked up venmo transactions and found Garret Richards also made payments to Kay.   Apparently transaction history is set default to "public" and you can reach people and transactions...   So, if you're using venmo to move money around you may want to check your settings.

[Lou]

Padres are in big trouble!

oh, and lol at rich white guys paying for their illegal drugs via Venmo

[greginpsca]

How did any of this not show up during their random drug tests?

[Blarg]

5 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

People have already looked up venmo transactions and found Garret Richards also made payments to Kay.   Apparently transaction history is set default to "public" and you can reach people and transactions...   So, if you're using venmo to move money around you may want to check your settings.

I had mentioned Richards previously, it just seemed like the logical connection. 

[Blarg]

4 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

How did any of this not show up during their random drip tests?

It doesn't stay in the blood very long. Usually clears the blood stream in less than 24 hours. So if these guys are party usage instead of daily pain killing, the chance of having trace amounts for even random testing is slim. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

10 hours ago, True Grich said:

A lot of addicts are good liars.  Well, maybe "good" is the wrong word.  A lot of addicts are just liars. It's part of who they are. This guy is no different.

Chicken dinner.

[Claude]

[Stradling]

Troll

[Claude]

22 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

Have the five other players been mentioned yet?

We should start a pick your 5 contest thread.