Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs received his drugs from a team PR official, a report says.
A public relations employee for the team reportedly told federal investigators that he gave Skaggs the oxycodone that the player abused, and that may have lead to his July 1 death, ESPN reported.
Some reports also show that the employee, Eric Kay, gave Skaggs the drugs only a few days before he ended up dead in a Texas hotel room.
A toxicology report found that the Angels pitcher had fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol in his system when he died.
Kay also allegedly told investigators that he observed Skaggs snorting three lines of oxy, or some other unknown drug, in front of him in the Texas hotel room.
Skaggs was also allegedly only one of six players sitting around doing drugs at the time, Kay is said to have told federal officials. On top of that, Kay supposedly told officials that the team had been notified about the drug use at least as far back as 2017.
The team denied the reports in a statement saying, “We are shocked to hear these reports. We had no prior knowledge of Tyler or any other member of the Angels organization having abused opioids or any narcotic and continue to work with law enforcement to get answers.”
Kay was reportedly placed on leave, and was also admitted to a facility to be treated for substance abuse.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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