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Former Hall Of Fame President Named In Lawsuit Against Angels

Headshot of Tim Mead
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Tim Mead, the former president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, is being sued by the family of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died of a drug overdose two years ago. The lawsuits filed Tuesday against the Angels organization and Mead also name Eric Kay as a defendant.

Skaggs was 27 when he was found dead in a Dallas hotel room before a series against the Rangers. Kay was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on drug charges for allegedly providing Skaggs with the drugs that caused his overdose death. Kay was the Angels’ director of communications, and he served as their public relations contact on many road trips. He was placed on leave shortly after Skaggs’ death, and he never returned to the team.

Mead was Kay's boss, and the lawsuits allege that Mead knew about Kay's issues with drug addiction, including that he was distributing drugs to players. Team officials have said they had not been aware that Skaggs was an opioids user and didn’t know any employees were providing drugs to players.

Mead left the Angels in April 2019 to become President of the Hall of Fame. He left two years later, saying in a statement that “these last 22 months have been challenging in maintaining my responsibilities.”

On Monday, the Hall named a new full-time president — Josh Rawitch — who will take over in September.

Mead's attorney denied the charges in a statement to ESPN

"Before Tyler Skaggs' tragic death, Tim Mead was not aware, informed, or had any knowledge whatsoever that Tyler may have used opioids, or that Eric Kay or any Angels employee had ever provided opioids to any player. Any statement to the contrary is reckless and false."

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. 

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