SAN DIEGO -- Tony Gwynn's family spoke with the media on Tuesday, one day after filing a lawsuit against a tobacco company.
Gwynn, the Hall of Famer and Padres legend who died at the age of 54, was a heavy user of smokeless tobacco. His family alleges that the Altria Group Inc., the former Philip Morris Co. and others among the world's biggest tobacco companies, were aware of the harmful repercussions of using its product.
By not alerting Gwynn to that danger when he started chewing, according to the suit, the tobacco industry contributed to Gwynn's death.