Comments on: How VANOC snubbed Olympian Kerrin Lee-Gartner

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:17:48 +0000

Well, it sounds like not much has gone right for this Olympic committee….every day a new issue is raised. How embarrassing for Canada……and OH while we are on the topic of the torch….who's BRIGHT idea was it to invite Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry our torch???????? Didn't he spend most of his career pumping steroids!!!__Kerrin Lee-Cartner deserves an "apology"……..__

By: Frank Struith

Frank Struith — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:56:47 +0000

has anyone noticed that Kerrin Lee Gartner has not been so much as MENTIONED on any CTV Olympic coverage. Even the retrospective commentaries disregard her win for Canada. CTV blacklists true Canadian sport heroes because they aren't on the consortium payroll. What crap!

By: Brendan Kane

Brendan Kane — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:16:16 +0000

Someone covering the Olympics for the BBC carried the torch, & it wasn't Kerrin Lee-Gartner:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/matthewpinsent/2010/02...

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:39:13 +0000

Hi Bill thank you for the article and it is a total disgrace that Kerrin Lee Gartner amongst all got snubbed. It just don't get it. She is a BC girl that won Olympic gold and should have got her place in the sun. I don't get it why CTV primadonnas like Benny Boy carries the flame at the Torch Relay.

I don't think you will see her carrying the torch at the opening ceremonies either as she is slated to work for the BBC at the Olympics including being a cohost for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well doing alpine skiing for the Beeb.

By: Roy Green

Roy Green — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:42:42 +0000

Lee-Gartner can't make it, but Mulroney does??? Shame, shame, shame. Ben would be doing midnight radio in some far-flung outpost if it wasn't for his last name. Even if, as some rumours have it, Lee-Gartner will be the flag-bearer, it still doesn't justify the so-called journalists at CTV-Globe Media carrying the torch. And I agree with the person who said he/she has lost all respect for Brunt. I've been a big fan of his and like his books, but I'm completely soured by (A) the way he sucks up to Macowan every night on The Fan and (B) his stance on carrying the torch. Shame on you, Brunt.

By: Pat Rosen

Pat Rosen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:05:53 +0000

I agree with Hugo Monster about Pelley. He and his former bosses at the Argos are just carpetbaggers. Pelly has been Rick Brace's butt boy for a long time, so he will re-emerge somewhere else when this is over. I know he has been stumping for the CFL commissioner job for years and he also harbours a desire to take over for Peddie at MLSE. What an ego!

By: HugoMonster

HugoMonster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:00:50 +0000

I just was on the CTV Olympic site and found an interesting Lee-Gartner article. Here is a snippet.

>> Lee-Gartner, a CBC analyst, approached Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, the partnership between CTV Inc. and Rogers Media Inc., but was turned down. "I really wanted to speak to a Canadian audience," she said. "But they felt I had been at the CBC too long." <<

Instead they are going with a rookie broadcasters Karen Percy-Lowe and Cary Mullen. Yep, another brilliant call by the genius leadership group.

By: HugoMonster

HugoMonster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:22:32 +0000

Why didn't Keith (I love myself so much) Pelley not hire Lee-Gartner? Is she not qualified enough for Canadian TV, thus has to work for BBC? What a joke.

It just points out how poorly managed this whole operation is. What a mess CTV/Globemedia has created for itself. They way overbid for both 2010 and 2012 Olympics, which will only mean hire cable and phone rates for the general public to cover their financial losses.

Who's the next sucker that will hire Pelley, and his huge salary, so he run it right into the red. The wee little fella has a history of doing just that!

By: Mike Beamish

Mike Beamish — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:37:35 +0000

As an accredited reporter for the Vancouver Winter Olympics and a long-time sportswriter at The Vancouver Sun, I was dismayed at the lack of professional integrity shown by Messrs. Brunt, MacGregor, Mason, etc. of the Globe. Gentlemen, have you no shame? At least give the impression of professional detachment. Will you be putting your torches up for sale on eBay?
Sadly, this torch relay seems more about giving face time to C list celebrities such as Ben Mulroney and sellout journalists while legitimate Canadian heroes such as Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Karen Magnussen, Kathy Kreiner and Ross Rebagliati are ignored.
I applaud Bill Houston for his courage in pointing out this farce, especially since his colleagues at the Globe are involved.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:14:30 +0000

I was just thinking about our Olympic athletes who never medalled, but they were successful in their time….
VANOC seems to have forgotten the legacy of The Crazy Canucks – Dave Irwin, etc., and what about the ski jumpers like Horst Bulau and Steve Collins (Canada's most successful Nordic skiers ever). Even Chris Lori (bobsleigh) has been ignored. VANOC has totally forgotten about these athletes who inspired our present Olympians. Shameful indeed.