As Attention Shifts to LA28, Focus on Casey Wasserman Intensifies

The Olympic spotlight is now fully focused on the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. But who will be leading the LA28 organizing committee is an increasingly open question. 

With Sunday’s conclusion of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, marketing is intensifying for the upcoming summer event in Los Angeles. NBC’s broadcast of the Closing Ceremonies from Verona included a two-minute film promoting the Los Angeles Games. Set to the classic pop song “California Dreamin’” and featuring actress Kate Hudson, the clip includes a series of iconic Los Angeles settings, including Hollywood, the Santa Monica Pier, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and Venice Beach.

NBCUniversal Television & Streaming CMO Jenny Storms called the promo a “love letter to the city and a powerful invitation to dream ahead to the Summer Games in 2028.”

The status of LA28 committee chair Casey Wasserman, however, is much less clear. After his presence in the Epstein files, including a series of sexually charged messages to Epstein lieutenant Ghislaine Maxwell, Wasserman has already moved to sell his eponymous talent agency, a business that played a principal role in vaulting the executive to his level of power and status. 

Last week, the LA28 board of directors gave a vote of confidence for Wasserman, saying it had “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.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, however, did not agree with the board’s assessment. “I cannot fire him,” she said. “I do have an opinion. My opinion is that he should step down.”

Dozens of other elected officials across multiple levels of government have made similar pronouncements calling for his exit.

A New Figure?

A Sunday report from CNN suggested that outgoing Disney CEO Bob Iger could take over as the head of LA28, and that his name has been floated among a group of potential replacements for Wasserman. Such a switch would be rather seamless from a timing perspective, as Iger is set to pass the reins of the ESPN parent company to Josh D’Amaro effective March 18. 

Wasserman, however, is described as determined to remain in the Olympics post. The coming weeks and months will be a serious test of his ability to continue as the organizing committee’s public face and perform key functions such as fundraising and press interviews, as scrutiny over the release of the Epstein files and what’s in them continues.