By Karolos Grohmann
MILAN, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee heaped praise on the Los Angeles 2028 Games leadership on Thursday amid a scandal involving LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman following revelations of emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
New files released days ago related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein showed flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Maxwell as early as 2003.
Wasserman apologised for his actions and denied having a personal or business relationship with Epstein but there have been calls from local politicians in Los Angeles for him to resign.
“Casey made a statement that reflects the perspective he has on what came to light when the emails were released,” USOPC Chairman of the Board Gene Sykes told a press conference.
“That is out there. We have nothing to add to that. His statement stands on its own.”
Sykes, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, said overall LA Games organisers had done an outstanding job so far, praising its leadership but without naming Wasserman.
“I have more confidence today in LA28’s operational capabilities, its leadership, the quality of what it’s doing and how well they have executed than I have at any point in time since I began working with LA28 at its inception in 2015,” Sykes said.
“They have done exceptionally well commercially. A tremendous superlative success story there. My confidence in LA is very high.”
He specifically mentioned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover and CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP) John Slusher by name.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, State Senator Lena Gonzalez and a trio of city council members were among those who called for Wasserman to resign, according to a report in the LA Times on Tuesday.
“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” Hahn told the LA Times.
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said on Wednesday that the LA 2028 leadership structure was not up to the IOC, when asked whether Wasserman was becoming a potential liability for the organising committee.
“As we said before Casey put out a statement,” Coventry told a press conference. “From the IOC point of view, the OCOG (LA Games Organising Committee) and how it is structured is not something that we will be involved in.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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