Casey Wasserman said Thursday he did not consider resigning as the chairman of LA28, pushing back after calls for him to step aside over emails he exchanged with Ghislaine Maxwell. He made the remarks at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, where organizers were trying to show the 2028 Olympics are moving ahead with momentum.
The pressure on Wasserman sharpened after the email release, which revived scrutiny over a figure convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors. Wasserman has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Maxwell or Epstein, but the controversy landed at a moment when LA28 and the International Olympic Committee are working to keep the Games on track and reassure a city that will help pay for them in ways that remain politically sensitive.
Wasserman said he talks to Mayor Karen Bass weekly, if not more frequently, and that their conversations are private. He said those talks remain thoughtful and productive, even though Bass was among those urging him to resign. That mattered because Bass sits at the center of the city’s Olympic politics, and because the mayor’s backing — or her criticism — carries real weight as organizers try to keep the project moving.
At the same event, officials said four million tickets had been sold in the first ticket release, which they called the most successful Olympic ticket launch in history. LA28 also said the 2028 Summer Games are gaining momentum, while Wasserman pointed to budget contingencies and said federal support will reimburse costs such as local security expenses. Last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion aimed at strengthening financial protections ahead of the Games.
That progress report came with friction outside the hotel. Members of the Fair Games Coalition demonstrated nearby, pressing LA28 to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other immigration enforcement agencies away from the Games and the region. Jacie Prieto Lopez, LA28’s vice president of communications and public affairs, said the organizing committee is committed to working with all stakeholders to welcome athletes and visitors from around the world and deliver the safest and greatest Games for Angelenos and beyond.
For now, Wasserman is staying put, and the question is less whether he will lead LA28 through the next phase than how much more damage the controversy can take before it starts to stain the city’s Olympic pitch.
