"Real issue is holding accountable the people who are distributing fentanyl" - Late LA Angels player Tyler Skaggs' family speaks up after Eric Kay is sentenced to prison for pitcher's death by overdose

According to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham, former Los Angeles Angels staffer Eric Kay was sentenced today to 22 years in federal prison in connection with the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019, reports ESPN.

The Skaggs family was grateful for the decision and released a statement that said:

"We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay. Today's sentencing isn't about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl."

In the trial, five players from the major leagues testified that Kay gave them oxycodone tablets at various times between 2017 and 2019, the years for which Kay was accused of buying pills and providing them to players at Angel Stadium. Both the testimony and the court records indicate that Kay took drugs personally.

Tyler Skaggs and Eric Kay’s drug overdose case

On July 1, 2019, a few hours before the Angels were scheduled to play a game against the Texas Rangers, 27-year-old Skaggs was discovered dead in his bed in a Texas hotel room. He had oxycodone and fentanyl in his system at the time of his death, which was deemed an accident, according to a toxicology report that was later released.

"Former Angels employee Eric Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday for providing pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas." – ESPN

Doping has been a major concern in MLB. In 2013, several baseball players were accused of consuming PEDs from an American Biogenesis clinic. New York Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez also admitted to using performance enhancing drugs and was suspended for 162 games and the entire 2014 season.

Fernando Tatis Jr., who made his MLB debut in 2019 also missed the entire 2022 season over a PED suspension.

A-Rod spoke about his mistakes on his show.

"My mistakes are on me. No excuses." – Alex Rodriguez

Skaggs was a pitcher who played in the MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels from 2012 until his death in 2019. The Angels wore a No. 45 patch on their jerseys for the rest of the 2019 season in memory of Skaggs. His wife and mother set up a charitable foundation in his name.