With the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics concluding last Sunday in Italy, advertisers, fans, athletes and the media now turn a wave of attention to the Los Angeles Games set for 2028.
LA28 organizers set one of the more notable signs in motion in January before the Winter Games, allowing prospective ticket buyers to register for the right to secure their place at more than two dozen venues.
Other logistical details continue to be hammered out, like the selection of the firm tasked with managing the workforce for the 2028 Games or even becoming the first Olympics to offer naming rights.
However what seems murky is where LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman stands in the continuing process.
In light of his appearance in the government’s release of documents Jeffrey Epstein, Wasserman, 51, has faced increasing pressure to step away from his post, while his business interests now face considerable challenges.
But he has a rigid ally in LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover, who gave his full backing to Wasserman on Monday despite the U.S. Justice Department’s disclosure of materials linking the chairman to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The board has taken their position — they support him and I support him,” Hoover said. “We’ve got a great leadership team here at LA28. Just look at the results.”
The approval from Hoover, for now, tilts some favor back into Wasserman’s direction after details in the Epstein documents showed that Wasserman flew on Epstein’s private plane in 2002 and exchanged flirtatious emails with Maxwell in 2003.
Despite the backlash, Wasserman has been investigated and cleared by the LA28 organizing committee board, with the group agreeing in early February that based on their findings, no wrongdoing had taken place.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the executive committee said in a statement at the conclusion of their inquiry. “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.”
Hoover also agreed and is looking ahead to the ongoing planning of the 2028 Games.
“We’ve exceeded all expectations, we’ve broken all Olympic records by any measure,” Hoover said. “If that doesn’t give people confidence, I don’t know what will.”
Hoover’s remarks come just a week after L.A. mayor Karen Bass said in a CNN interview that Wasserman should vacate his postion.
“The board made a decision. I think that was unfortunate,” Bass said in the interview. “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.”
Prior to the interview Bass had not made any statements regarding Wasserman.
But Hoover seemed unmoved by her comments, noting that the matter has already cleared what the board deemed as a thorough inquiry.
“Look, that’s her opinion,” Hoover said. “But she also said that the LA28 board has taken a position and is supporting Casey, so there’s nothing more to really be said on it.”
Wasserman, meanwhile, will have to navigate a year of fallout that also comes with him stepping down from his talent agency and putting his stake up for sale. After several clients publicly said that would part ways with the Wasserman Group, pressure has mounted on the company which is a powerhouse in Hollywood and employs 4,000 people.
The agency currently represents music acts like Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell, Lorde and Imagine Dragons along with sports like Klay Thompson, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Morgan, Paige Bueckers and Rickie Fowler.
Since Wasserman said he would divest his 40 percent stake in the company, Rhode Island-based Providence Equity Partners, which owns 60 percent, is said to already be looking to rename the firm as bids for Wasserman’s share have likely been fielded.
