CANADA
The Globe and Mail
SUNNY DHILLON
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Jun. 18, 2015
A freelance journalist continued to attack former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong even after her initial article was published, pressuring organizations he was involved with to sever ties and writing a paper that contained untrue allegations, Mr. Furlong’s lawyer argued Thursday.
Laura Robinson wrote an article for the Georgia Straight, a weekly newspaper based in Vancouver, in September, 2012, in which eight people alleged Mr. Furlong physically abused his former students. The allegations stemmed from Mr. Furlong’s previously undisclosed time as a physical-education instructor at Immaculata Roman Catholic Elementary School in Burns Lake, B.C., from 1969-70.
Ms. Robinson is suing Mr. Furlong over comments he made at a news conference the day the story was published. Mr. Furlong vehemently denied any wrongdoing and criticized Ms. Robinson’s reporting, saying she had a vendetta against him.
On Thursday, the defamation trial heard about e-mails Ms. Robinson sent to an aboriginal news website and to a B.C. First Nation in June, 2013. In the e-mails to NationTalk and the Musqueam Indian Band, Ms. Robinson asked questions about a “First Nations evening” that was being held by the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team. Mr. Furlong is the team’s executive chair
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