Mayor urges Wasserman to resign as head of 2028 L.A. OlympicsAssociated PressMultiple AuthorsFeb 17, 2026, 07:52 AM ET
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MILAN — Pressure continues to mount for Casey Wasserman to leave as head of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing team after the city’s mayor urged him to step down because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass told CNN late Monday that “my opinion is that he should step down” despite Wasserman getting support last week from the LA28 board to stay.
The issue has been a distraction for the International Olympic Committee this month since Wasserman’s flirtatious emails from 2003 with Maxwell were published in a release of United States government files days before the Milan Cortina Winter Games opened.
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The IOC had consistently deflected questions in Milan about Wasserman, saying it was a matter for the LA28 board, though its language shifted slightly Tuesday.
“I understand there are many conversations happening at this moment but I will not make any further comment,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams mentioned Tuesday in Milan. “This is obviously a matter for the board of LA28 still at this stage.”
Mayor Bass told CNN that “I cannot fire [Wasserman]” during a studio interview, but she publicly stated that she thought he should leave.
Fallout at the entertainment and sports agency that Wasserman founded has resulted in lost clients since the emails release, including pop star Chappell Roan and soccer star Abby Wambach. Wasserman is now in the process of selling the agency.
Scrutiny on Wasserman has escalated despite the L.A. Olympics board last week backing him to stay based on a review, which he cooperated with, by outside legal counsel of his contacts with Epstein and Maxwell.
“I think that decision was unfortunate,” Bass told CNN. “I don’t support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership. However, my job as mayor of Los Angeles is to make sure that our city is completely prepared to have the best Olympics that has ever happened in Olympic history.”
The mayor and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have key roles to play in the success of the L.A. Olympics and Paralympics by ensuring all layers of government support the complex logistical challenges that will take over the city in July and August of 2028.
Wasserman has been a driving force of the L.A. Olympics since the bid was launched in 2015. Questions about his status have swirled since before he arrived in Milan two weeks ago to meet with IOC members and attend the opening ceremony.
The L.A. organizing team gave an report of the hosting plan to IOC members at their annual meeting.
Wasserman and other officials were quizzed on issues such as visa processing for global visitors to the U.S., though not on personal matters.
He has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and Maxwell.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” which was “long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman mentioned in a statement issued before coming to Milan.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
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