Casey Wasserman will remain the chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee despite his appearance in the files on Jeffrey Epstein recently released by the United States government, the LA28 board’s executive committee decided after meeting Wednesday.
Wasserman, the founder of the major sports marketing and talent management company that bears his last name, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but documents released Jan. 30 by the Justice Department showed Wasserman exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Maxwell would later be accused of helping Epstein recruit, traffic and abuse his victims; she is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The LA28 board said it took “allegations of misconduct seriously” and consulted an outside legal firm to help examine Wasserman’s interactions with Maxwell, which included the two discussing real estate and massages.
“I think of you all the time,” Wasserman said in one exchange. “So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
In a statement from its board, LA28 said it “found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.”
“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. This was his single interaction with Epstein. Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell.
“The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.”
One day after the Jan. 30 document release, Wasserman released his own statement.
“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. “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.”
In the days since Wasserman’s name appeared in the files, several high-profile clients, including Grammy Award-winning singer Chappell Roan and former U.S. women’s soccer star Abby Wambach have left the Wasserman agency.
“I have left the Wasserman Agency,” Wambach wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “… Casey should resign. He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to.”
The Wasserman agency represents several stars across the sports world, including Klay Thompson and Evan Mobley of the NBA, Geno Smith, Maxx Crosby and Trey McBride of the NFL, Giancarlo Stanton and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of MLB and Brittney Griner, Paige Bueckers and Breanna Stewart of the WNBA, per Spotrac.
Several Los Angeles politicians have called upon Wasserman to resign from his post with the Olympic committee, per the Los Angeles Times.
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