Eric Kay, the former Los Angeles Angels communications director who was found guilty of providing drugs that killed pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday.
Kay had been facing a minimum of 20 years, but he reportedly received an additional two years after apparently making derogatory remarks about Skaggs in jailhouse phone calls.
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Prosecutors presented jailhouse phone calls and emails as evidence in the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, according to the Justice Department.
"I hope people realize what a piece of s--- he is," Kay said in a phone call with his mother, according to the DOJ, "Well, he’s dead, so f--- him."
Kay ridiculed Skaggs' family as well, calling them "white trash" and "dumb."
"All they see are dollar signs," he said. "They may get more money with him dead than he was playing because he sucked."
District Judge Terry Means did not want to give Kay what he felt was an "excessive" minimum, but the phone call showed a "refusal to accept responsibility and even be remorseful for something you caused," according to the Washington Post.
Carli Skaggs, Tyler's widow, placed blame on Kay for her husband's death.
"I feel strongly that those who risk the lives of others with killer drugs need to be held accountable," she said. "If anything good can come of Tyler’s death and this trial, it will be preventing someone else’s wife from receiving the call I did."
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Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, from a drug overdose as fentanyl and oxycodone were found in his system, but Skaggs was not the only major leaguer to receive drugs from Kay.
Matt Harvey, C.J. Cron, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian also said in court that they were provided drugs by the former Angels employee.
Kay was found guilty back in February after the jury deliberated for just 90 minutes.
MLB and the MLBPA agreed in December of that year to start regularly testing players for opioids and cocaine. No violations have been found.
Skaggs was 27 when he was found in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas, before the Angels were set to play the Texas Rangers.
