United States women\u2019s soccer star Abby Wambach said Wednesday that she was ending her 20-year association with the agency founded and led by Casey Wasserman following the recent release of flirtatious emails he exchanged with Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
Wambach is the first athlete to publicly cut ties with the agency, which is one of the biggest<\/a> in the world, with clients spanning the worlds of sports and entertainment. Wasserman is also the head of the LA28 Olympic committee and has been in Italy for the Milan Cortina Games.<\/p>\n \u201cI read Casey Wasserman\u2019s correspondences in the Epstein files,\u201d Wambach, a two-time gold medalist and the leading career scorer in the history of the United States Women\u2019s National Team, wrote<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cI know what I know, and I am following my gut and my values.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not participate in any business arrangement under his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Maxwell was convicted on federal charges in 2021 that she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls.<\/p>\n Wambach\u2019s decision comes one day after pop star Chappell Roan announced she was leaving the agency. In her statement, Roan did not mention the emails directly, but she did write, \u201cNo artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for the Wasserman agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Shortly after Wambach\u2019s statement, the executive committee of the LA28 board issued a statement in which it said it had conducted a review of Wasserman\u2019s interactions with Maxwell and Epstein and that it found that \u201cMr. Wasserman\u2019s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.\u201d<\/p>\n It added, \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The email correspondence between Wasserman and Maxwell, released last month by the Justice Department, was part of a trove of files related to Epstein, the convicted sex offender who killed himself in 2019 while in jail awaiting a criminal trial on sex-trafficking charges. According to The New York Times<\/a>, the emails, which were sent in 2003, occurred while Wasserman was married with a young family and long before Maxwell\u2019s conviction.<\/p>\n In the emails, Maxwell offered Wasserman a massage that would \u201cdrive a man wild.\u201d Amid other exchanges, Wasserman told Maxwell that he thinks of her all the time and asked, \u201cWhat do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?\u201d<\/p>\n Following the release of the emails, Wasserman released a statement saying, \u201cI deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell, which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n That has not stopped the criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cCasey should resign,\u201d Wambach wrote in her statement. \u201cHe should leave, so more people like me don\u2019t have to. I am unclear of my next steps. That\u2019s OK with me. I just know where I can\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n On its website, the agency boasts that it represents more than 30 No. 1 picks in the MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL and WNBA drafts. It claims to have secured over $5 billion in marketing deals for its clients and 200-plus Emmy Award wins for broadcast and media clients.<\/p>\n Other notable athletes represented by the Wasserman agency include Dallas Wings rookie of the year guard Paige Bueckers, former three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi, Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby and Premier League Hall of Famer Steven Gerrard, among a litany of others.<\/p>\n Prominent music artists include Coldplay, Tyler, The Creator and Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>\n