U.S. women's national team great Abby Wambach announced she is leaving the Wasserman agency amid a growing controversy around its founder Casey Wasserman, who appears in the recently released trove of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"I know what I know and I am following my gut and my values," Wambach said in a post on Instagram. "I will not participate in any business arrangement under (Wasserman's) leadership."
Wambach, who retired in 2015, is not represented by Wasserman himself, and encouraged her agent to leave the 51-year-old's firm.
"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."
The Wasserman agency represents a number of the best-known soccer players in the world, including many USWNT and U.S. men's national team players.
Wambach, 45, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a World Cup champion and six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award. She is the USWNT's all-time leading scorer with 184 goals in 255 appearances.
The Wasserman agency also represents many stars of music and entertainment. One of the biggest, Grammy-winning artist Chappell Roan, announced this week she is leaving the agency.
“I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well," the musician said on Instagram. "No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.”
In emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice last month, a flirtatious correspondence between Wasserman and Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell from 2003 was revealed. At the time, Wasserman was married with a young family.
Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
Wasserman also traveled with Epstein on his private jet during a 2002 trip to Africa on a humanitarian mission.
In a statement after the emails became public, Wasserman said: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, 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."
Casey Wasserman to remain on LA Olympics committee despite Jeffrey Epstein links
Wasserman also serves as chairman for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee, which met on Wednesday, Feb. 11 to determine whether he would stay on. After an investigation, the committee said that Wasserman would remain in his position.
"We found Mr. Wasserman's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented," the committee said in a statement.
"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 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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USWNT legend Abby Wambach leaves Wasserman amid Epstein files release