‘America will be open’: Casey Wasserman assures IOC visa issues won’t plague 2028 L.A. Olympics
In an address to the International Olympic Committee in Pylos, Greece, Casey Wasserman addressed concerns over visas and entry requirements to the U.S. for athletes and delegations taking part in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Wasserman shared the spotlight at the 144th IOC session Thursday with Kirsty Coventry, who became the first woman and first African to be elected president of the body. Coventry, the sports minister of Zimbabwe and a two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, was elected from a slate of seven candidates to an eight-year term of office.
Wasserman, chairman of the Games organizing committee, assured the 105 active IOC members that “irrespective of politics today, America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics. L.A. is the most diverse city in the history of humanity and we will welcome the people from around the world and give them all a great time.”
Concerns stem from recent reports that President Trump’s administration is considering sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of 43 countries. Trump issued an executive order the day he took office Jan. 20 requiring the State Department to identify countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
IOC member Ingmar de Vos, who leads the collective group of Summer Games sports bodies, questioned Wasserman about the proposed restrictions on travel to the U.S., which include a total travel ban from 11 countries, sharply restricted visas from 10 others and a 60-day vetting process for citizens of an additional 22 countries.
