A former Los Angeles Angels communications executive testified Friday that the team had no authority to control or supervise pitcher Tyler Skaggs or the staffer who supplied him with drugs on the night the 27-year-old overdosed and died in 2019, because both were off duty at the time.
Tim Mead, who was the Angels’ sixth-highest-ranking official before leaving for a job at the Baseball Hall of Fame just weeks before Skaggs’ death, spent a full day on the stand under cross-examination by Angels’ counsel, Todd Theodora of Theodora Oringher PC. The testimony came in the civil negligence trial brought by Skaggs’ widow, Carli Skaggs, and his parents, who accuse the team of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision that contributed to the tragedy.
“Off Duty” and Beyond the Team’s Control
The family’s lawsuit alleges that the Angels failed to prevent a foreseeable and preventable tragedy when Skaggs overdosed in a Southlake, Texas, hotel room on July 1, 2019, after ingesting alcohol and a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl allegedly provided by then-communications director Eric Kay.
But under questioning Friday, Mead told jurors that the Angels had no ability to oversee employee conduct outside work hours or impose player curfews, citing Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.
