We at the LA84 Foundation would like to thank the fringe conspiracy group “No Olympics” for giving us a platform to explain who we are, what our mission is, and why we unequivocally support bringing the Olympics to Los Angeles in 2028 regardless of the material conditions of our city. As key influencers of the Organizing Committee and Bid Committee for the 2028 Olympic Games, we envision a future for our city that is riddled with debt, beholden to the wills of private developers, and with greater access to soccer balls for a few children.
Our Story. The LA84 Foundation was created by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee to use a surplus of the Games’ budget to start a youth sports organization. Founded by the city’s most iconic civic leaders of its day (a Reaganite studio executive, a rich baseball commissioner, a mayor who concentrated the homelessness crisis in Skid Row), the foundation set out to give back to the underserved communities in Los Angeles that took part in hosting the Olympic games. How did we achieve this? By doling out private grants to select school programs and non-profits instead of accountable bodies like the LAUSD. We do this because the LA84 Foundation believes in practicality when it comes to serving the needs of our community, and practical success can only be achieved through private enterprise.
Our Mission. The LA84 Foundation strives to support positive youth development through after-school sports programs and grants. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means we deflect any criticism leveled at our organization or the Olympic Games through the lens of young people getting access to diving boards and tennis rackets. Do you not believe a private foundation should be using its accumulated wealth to address youth sports programs rather than the various other problems our city is facing? You don’t think the estimated $160 million dollars that is being pledged by LA 2028 and the IOC is best spent on youth sports programs? That means that you hate children. You hate the idea of lower-income kids finding a way out through sports and only sports. You believe that the systemic issues communities of color in Los Angeles face go beyond giving them slightly better access to sporting equipment. You must believe that the money we have could be used as a real force of change but doesn’t fall into our narrow vision of what social justice is. And you will probably go to hell because of that.
Why Los Angeles Needs the Olympics. Because these games inspire citizens of the city to appreciate sports and get involved in sports themselves. Did you know that after the 2012 London Olympics were held, it inspired 7% of the UK population to take up sports, which is way less than promised or projected? That’s almost a good amount of people! And these modest sports participation gains will definitely be worth making the housing rates in the city skyrocket for a very marginal amount of people interested in taking up whatever “dressage” is.
Why We Need To Exist. Because… uh. Well, you know… we like money? And we want to maintain a system which funnels more millions to us — a private, well-endowed, fully unaccountable body — so we can acquire more property and power to influence local politics and life at large.
We hope you readers have found this informative and now understand what the LA84 Foundation provides for the youth of Los Angeles and the special interest groups who want to bring the Olympic games to our city. And if you didn’t, well, you can fuck right off because it’s going to happen anyway.