Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in an interview Monday that she does not want Casey Wasserman competing in the 2028 Summer Games.
Bass told CNN’s Dana Bash that it was “unfortunate” that Los Angeles Olympics organizers supported Wasserman amid revelations that he sent lewd emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell two decades ago.
Bass initially refused to take the position amid the drama surrounding Wasserman, saying two weeks ago that it was up to the board of the LA28 Olympics – the non-profit organization behind the Games – to decide whether to keep him.
But on Monday, Bass offered a new perspective on Wasserman’s fate.
“My opinion is that he should step down,” said Bass. “That’s not the board’s opinion.”
He said “we have to look at the leadership” of LA28 and that his job is to make sure the city is “absolutely ready” for the Games.
Wasserman has apologized for her correspondence with Maxwell and expressed regret for her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. This interview took place before Maxwell’s crimes became known and before he was sentenced to prison for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by financier Epstein.
Wasserman announced last week that he would sell his sports and entertainment company because of the backlash over the email exchange.
The executive committee of the board of LA28 announced on Wednesday that it reviewed the past behavior of the mogul and decided that based on the facts and his “strong leadership” of the Games, he should continue to work as chairman of LA28.
LA28’s executive committee – part of its wider, 35-member board – said it “takes allegations of misconduct very seriously.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, holding the Olympic flag, LA28 chair Casey Wasserman, front right, and Team USA Olympians skater Tate Carew, second from left, diver Delaney Schnell, back right, and volleyball player Micah Ma’a, top right, arrive in Los Angeles on Aug. 12, 2024.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
It met Wednesday after hiring outside counsel O’Melveny & Myers LLP to help review Wasserman’s dealings with Epstein and Maxwell. Wasserman, he said, has fully cooperated with the review.
The leaders of the LA Olympics have not yet revealed who is on the committee. Bass’ office said last week that those appointed to the executive committee included recreation lawyer Matt Johnson, real estate developer Jaime Lee and union leader Yvonne Wheeler.
At least 10 L.A.-area politicians, including a third of the 15-member Los Angeles City Council, have called on Wasserman to step down from leading the Olympics, many saying the exchange is disruptive.
City Council member Nithya Raman, who is challenging Bass in the upcoming mayoral race, is among those calling for Wasserman to withdraw. Raman previously worked at a women’s rights organization that was founded in the wake of the #MeToo movement before becoming a council member.
Even before the revelations about the emails, there was tension between Wasserman and other Los Angeles politicians who worried that the $7 billion Summer Games shortfall would have to be covered by local taxpayers.
Relations between the city and LA28 were also strained when the Daily MailBritish newspaper, published allegations in 2024 that Wasserman was a “fraudster” who was carrying on affairs with young female employees. Wasserman, who separated from his wife, Laura, in 2021, denies the allegations.
Former Mayor Eric Garcetti picked Wasserman, a close friend, more than a decade ago to run for the Olympics.
