A texas court has laid the hammer down on former Los Angeles Angels Communications Director Eric Kay for his role in the high-profile death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. The Angels starting pitcher died of a drug overdose in 2019, with Kay previously being found guilty of supplying Skaggs with the fentanyl pills that eventually led to his death. On Tuesday, Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.

As it turns out, Kay's comments about Skaggs and his family played a key role in his prison sentence. According to a report by Gus Garcia Roberts of The Washington Post, Judge Terry Means “went above the minimum 20 years Kay faced because of remarks he made” during a recorded jailhouse call. In Tuesday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented the said recorded calls and emails as evidence to prove that Kay showed a significant lack of remorse for his crime (via the United States Department of Justice website):

“I hope people realize what a piece of sh*t he is,” Kay told his mother during the call. “Well, he’s dead, so f*ck ‘em.”

Kay also called the Skaggs family “dumb” and labeled them as “white trash.” Kay also suggested that Tyler Skaggs' own mother was purposely desecrating Kay's image in public.

“All they see are dollar signs,” he said of the Skaggs family. “They may get more money with him dead than he was playing because he sucked.”

According to the court evidence, Skaggs was not the only Angels player that received drugs from Kay. Apparently, the former team executive also dealt oxycodone pills to a handful of other players on the Angels roster.

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Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas Eduardo A. Chavez provided a statement following Kay's sentencing. The high-ranking DEA agent sent a bold warning in the wake of Kay's 22-year prison sentence:

“Today’s sentencing of Eric Kay will not ease the suffering that the Skaggs’ family have experienced since 2019,” said Chavez. “What the guilty verdict and sentencing proves is even if you sell only a small number of pills and one of those pills causes the death of an individual, you will be held responsible and sentenced to the fullest extent allowed by our judicial system.”