Los Angeles Angels refute claims pitcher Tyler Skaggs died of a drug overdose in Texas hotel
The Los Angeles Angels released a statement shortly after the unexplained death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs publicly refuting claims made by the 27-year-old's hometown paper that he may have died from a drug overdose.
The local paper had published a speculative story shortly after the sportsman's death.
The pitcher was found unresponsive in his hotel room near Dallas on Monday, just two days after his conclusive performance for the Angels.
Angels spokesperson, Marie Garvey, said: "This article is categorically incorrect. The cause of death is still under investigation as stated by the Southlake Police Department. We have tried to contact the paper to correct this story but have [been] unsuccessful in our attempts. This sort of reckless reporting from Tyler's hometown paper is disappointing and harmful," the Daily Mail reported.
Meanwhile, Texas police released a statement, saying no foul play is suspected in the case.
An autopsy has reportedly been completed, however, the results will not be immediately released.
The speculative article, written by the Santa Monica (California) Observer's Stan Greene, reportedly referred to multiple other deaths while speculating about the possible circumstances surrounding Skagg's demise.
The article also mentioned Tommy Hanson, a former Angels pitcher, who died of cocaine overdose two years after playing for the team in 2013.
The Observer, in response to Angel's statement, said: "We replied that the story makes it clear the author is speculating and expressed our condolences to the Skaggs family."
The paper has reportedly since deleted much of the speculation within the article.
However, many social media users have posted the original version of the article, suggesting drug overdose.
One Twitter user posted the original article, saying: "Given that Skaggs was in good mental health and seeing multiple doctors for injuries, it seems he made the same fatal mistake [recording artist] Tom Petty did last year," read the excerpt. "He obtained several opioid pain prescriptions from several doctors and didn't tell his doctors that he was seeing several doctors for the same painful problem. i.e. Petty simply overdosed on his own medication."
"I am bothered that the original article referencing cocaine has been changed without any mention of the edit," wrote the commenter. "The prescription drug replacement seems like a CYA [cover your ass] move by the paper."