Former US soccer star Abby Wambach has announced she is leaving the Wasserman talent agency and called for its founder and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics chairman, Casey Wasserman, to resign after emails between him and Ghislaine Maxwell were revealed in the Jeffery Epstein files.
The two-time gold medalist and World Cup winner shared a statement on Wednesday saying she was leaving Wasserman, an agency that represents an extensive roster of athletes and celebrities across the sports and entertainment industries.
Several musical artists, including pop star Chappell Roan, have cut ties with the agency since Wasserman’s correspondence was revealed in the files. Wambach is the first figure of note from the sports world to publicly depart.
“I read Casey Wasserman’s correspondences in the Epstein files. I know what I know, and I am following my gut and my values,” Wambach wrote on Instagram. “I will not participate in any business arrangement under his leadership. I also need to say this: I’m grateful to my agent, who I’ve known for almost 20 years and trust.
“Casey should resign. He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to. I am unclear of my next steps. That’s OK with me, I just know where I can’t be.”
Wambach had been represented by Wasserman for at least 15 years. She retired from professional soccer in 2015 after a 15-year career during which she scored 184 international goals, the second most all-time. She has since written two books and hosts a podcast with her wife, Glennon Doyle.
Documents released last month by the US government included flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman and Maxwell in 2003.
Wasserman released an apology on 31 January, saying: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” which he said occurred “long before her horrific crimes came to light”.
“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them,” he said.
Maxwell was charged with conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls and was convicted in 2021 on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein’s death in a New York jail cell in 2019 was ruled a suicide and came a month after he was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Wasserman has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims, but he has faced calls to step down from his CEO post at the agency and as LA Olympics chair.
The LA28 Olympics executive committee met Wednesday to discuss Wasserman’s status. It announced its support for its chair and said he should continue in his role.
The committee hired outside counsel to review his interactions with Epstein and Maxwell and found that his relationship with them “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” according to a statement provided to the Guardian.
“Twenty-three years ago, before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes, Mr. Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation. This was his single interaction with Epstein. Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell,” the statement read.
Wasserman “fully cooperated” with the review. The executive committee determined he “should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games”.
Wasserman’s website says its soccer clientele includes US women’s national team stars Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson and Naomi Girma, along with the now-retired Alex Morgan. During the 2019 World Cup, the agency represented more than half of the winning US team.
On the men’s side, its roster includes US star Weston McKennie, Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.
The agency also represents top players in the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB, along with actors such as Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler.
Dani Anguiano contributed reporting.
