CANADA
Global News
By Paula Baker
Online News Producer
Despite months of controversy in the lead-up to his keynote speech at a University of British Columbia (UBC) fundraising event on Tuesday, former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong was greeted with a standing ovation by the attendees and only a handful of protesters outside.
In his speech Furlong admitted to student athletes and alumni that he’s had “a few challenges the past few years” and in times of hopelessness and despair, the only thing you can rely on is the truth.
UBC removed the Own the Podium board chairman from the fundraiser’s event for student athletes in December, after graduate Glynnis Kirchmeier circulated an open letter criticizing Furlong’s record with First Nations.
Furlong has vehemently denied allegations in a 2012 newspaper article that he beat First Nations children while teaching in northern B.C. decades ago and Laura Robinson, the journalist who wrote the article, later lost her defamation lawsuit against Furlong.
The decision to pull Furlong — and replace him with Ono as speaker — was met with a public backlash. Some social media users who identified themselves as long-time supporters of the university threatened to stop donating to UBC.
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