CANADA
The Province
BY KEITH FRASER, THE PROVINCE JUNE 19, 2015
The editor of the Georgia Straight on Friday accused Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong of engaging in a “sustained public relations blitz” against his newspaper after it published allegations Furlong had physically abused his former students more than 40 years ago.
Charlie Smith made the comment while testifying at the trial at which freelance journalist Laura Robinson is suing Furlong for defamation arising from his response to her article on the abuse allegations for the Vancouver weekly.
After the article was published in September 2012, Furlong sued the paper and Robinson for defamation, claiming that he’d been falsely accused and alleging Robinson was unethical and incompetent.
In October 2013, Furlong held a press conference at which he announced that a police investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse against Furlong, which was not reported by the Straight, had been concluded and no charges had been laid.
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