In a revealing testimony, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout appeared in court on Tuesday, shedding light on the events leading up to the tragic death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Trout revealed that a team employee alerted him to potential concerns related to drug abuse by former communications director Eric Kay before Skaggs’ passing in 2019.
Trout’s testimony seeks to establish that Kay’s behavior generated sufficient warning signs to justify the team’s intervention before he provided the drugs that caused Skaggs’ death. The Skaggs family is suing the Angels for wrongful death, seeking compensation of $118 million, alleging that the team violated its own rules by allowing Kay to remain in his position despite the dangers posed by his drug addiction. In contrast, other team officials, such as Vice President of Communications Tim Mead and Travel Secretary Tom Taylor, previously testified that they were unaware of Kay’s drug problem. The Skaggs family’s lawsuit also mentions reports suggesting that team officials knew about Skaggs’ drug use long before his death and that Kay was selling drugs to other players. Trout, an 11-time All-Star player, became the first Angels player to testify in the civil trial. During his two-hour testimony, Trout alternated between joyful memories of his relationship with Skaggs and serious moments about Kay’s strange behavior as his drug use became evident. At times, Trout became emotional during his testimony, and Skaggs’ family members in the front row shared tissues. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, stated in her opening statement that the Angels put Skaggs “directly in danger” by continuing to employ Kay after behavioral issues indicated a drug problem. Kay is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for providing the oxycodone with fentanyl that caused Skaggs’ death. The Angels’ lawyer, Todd Theodora, argued that the team is not responsible for the activities that Kay and Skaggs carried out outside of their working hours. Team officials were unaware of Skaggs’ drug use or that Kay was providing drugs to the players. Trout testified that he saw Skaggs consume alcohol, but had not seen him use drugs other than marijuana, and that Skaggs did not show obvious signs of using drugs. Trout was surprised to learn that several teammates had been using illicit drugs. Trout also mentioned that, although he was not aware of players taking illicit drugs or buying them from Kay, “he may have heard” that when a player wanted Viagra, Kay would go to a doctor to get it. Additionally, Trout revealed that he limited Kay’s ability to obtain autographs from him, in order to ensure that Kay was not “misusing” them to buy drugs. Before confronting Kay, Trout challenged him to perform various actions, some considered “games” for different amounts of money, including getting a 90 mph fastball to the body and eating an insect from the locker room floor. Trout explained that he stopped offering Kay money for these actions when the locker room attendant, Kris Constanti, suggested that Kay was using the money for illicit purposes. Trout testified that he last saw Skaggs in an elevator at the team hotel the night of his death and that he broke down in tears during a team meeting the next day when he learned of Skaggs’ death. He remembered that Kay asked Trout to speak to the media, which Trout considered “difficult.” The days following Skaggs’ death included an emotional home game in which Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, threw out the first pitch. Trout recalled how all the Angels players wore Skaggs jerseys and that Trout hit a home run in his first at-bat during a combined no-hitter for the Angels that night. Hetman sat in the front row of the courtroom on Tuesday next to Skaggs’ widow, Carli.You have two children at home, and you have to do this right.
Mike Trout
