Casey Wasserman will remain chairman of the committee overseeing the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles despite calls for his resignation over past ties to convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, organizers for the event announced Wednesday.
The LA28 board’s executive committee said in a statement that after reviewing Wasserman’s past interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, a longtime companion of Epstein, it concluded that Wasserman “should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.” Wasserman, 51, the founder and CEO of the Wasserman sports and entertainment talent agency, has not been accused of wrongdoing or of any crimes involving Epstein or Maxwell.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the LA28 board said, adding that it takes allegations of misconduct seriously.
The review was conducted with the assistance of an outside legal firm, according to the LA28 board, and Wasserman fully cooperated.
“Twenty-three years ago, before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes, Mr. Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation,” the LA28 board said. “This was his single interaction with Epstein. Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell.”
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice released files related to the federal investigation into Epstein and Maxwell, including flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Maxwell from 2003. Epstein was convicted in 2008 after pleading guilty to felony charges of procuring a child for prostitution, and in 2019, he was arrested on sex-trafficking charges involving underage girls. He died by suicide later that year while in jail awaiting trial.
Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
The files, which were released Jan. 30, showed that Wasserman traveled to Africa with former President Bill Clinton on Epstein’s private jet in 2002. At the time, Wasserman was 28.
Wasserman the next day acknowledged the emails he exchanged with Maxwell, including one in which he wrote, “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said in a statement. “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
On Wednesday, retired United States women’s soccer player Abby Wambach became the first athlete to publicly leave the Wasserman agency over Wasserman’s ties to Epstein. In an Instagram post, Wambach, who spent nearly 20 years with the agency, called for Wasserman to resign.
“I read Casey Wasserman’s correspondences in the Epstein files,” said Wambach, who helped the U.S. win two Olympic gold medals and finished as the country’s all-time leading goal scorer. “I know what I know, and I am following my gut and my values.
“I will not participate in any business arrangement under his leadership.”
In Los Angeles, which will host the Summer Games for the first time since 1984, several elected officials have also urged Wasserman to step down from his role with LA28. The nonprofit organization is responsible for the Olympics’ $7.1 billion budget.
Los Angeles City Council members Monica Rodriguez, Hugo Soto-Martínez, Imelda Padilla, Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman, along with Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, have all spoken out against Wasserman.
“No one associated with Epstein and his associates can provide credible leadership in the planning of these games, which now includes Casey Wasserman,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Hahn said in a statement that having Wasserman “represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was asked Wednesday at a news conference in Sacramento whether Wasserman should step down. He declined to give a definitive answer.
“Based on the information that has been made public,” Newsom said, “I want to have the opportunity to dialogue with him directly before I answer that question.”