The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Wednesday it is keeping a watchful eye on the growing controversy surrounding Casey Wasserman, who leads the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organizing committee, signaling a shift from earlier support for the embattled chairman.
The heightened attention comes after Justice Department documents released in January connected Wasserman to Jeffrey Epstein.
“We’ve actively engaged and listened to our stakeholders, including athletes, and we’re closely monitoring the impact on our community,” USOPC chair Gene Sykes told reporters during a conference call. “We’ve also shared our concerns directly with the LA28 board, which is responsible for determining who serves as its chair.”
Back in February, LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover had expressed confidence in Wasserman, stating that sponsors weren’t voicing worries and that daily operations remained unaffected.
Despite the ongoing scrutiny, Sykes noted that LA28’s leadership team continues making “very solid” headway in organizing efforts and building partnerships, maintaining robust backing from both commercial partners and government entities.
Olympic officials highlighted overwhelming interest in the 2028 Games after worldwide ticket sales launched last week.
The global sales phase began following a record-breaking local pre-sale period, though many prospective attendees have criticized steep prices, additional charges, and limited ticket availability.
Sykes explained that organizers have worked to provide various pricing options, including over one million affordable tickets.
“There was a registration process over a month. They had a tremendous number of registrations… and they’ve been selling tickets at a remarkable rate,” he said.
“There are clearly some tickets which are high-priced, but they’ve made a great effort to have low-price tickets. They’ll have a million tickets priced at $28… so I know they’re thinking very seriously about how to manage the ticket activity so that it satisfies everybody.”
Sykes also responded to widespread criticism about a 24% service charge added to ticket purchases, calling it industry standard practice, while acknowledging that organizers are aware of the negative reaction and have thoroughly discussed the matter.
“They are not only aware of the issue, but they had given us a lot to think about,” he said.
