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Stoke winger James McClean says police visited him the night before he faced Fulham in 2012 after a social media user threatened to bring a gun to Craven Cottage.
In an extensive exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, McClean opened up on a variety of topics including:
- Why Social Media Companies Must Take Responsibility For Threats To Burn Your House With Your Children Inside
- He urged the authorities to treat abuses against the Irish in the same way as any other form of discrimination.
- The misconception that it is ‘anti-English or British’
- His regret over the balaclava ‘history lesson’ tweet that saw him fined by Stoke
As his wife Erin revealed this week, the firearm threat was just one example of the constant abuse directed at her husband, as she offered an eye-opening insight into family life.
McClean was in a London hotel in November 2012 with his Sunderland teammates when police arrived.
“The death threats were on social media the night before,” McClean explains.
“The police came to the hotel and checked that I was safe in my room. It was a live game on Sky and Erin was watching and worrying about what might happen.
McClean in action for Sunderland in Fulham on the night of November 2012 when he was threatened on social media.
“I don’t think I was ever really in danger, but they are still death threats. Erin is a bag of nerves because she worries so much more than I do. With three young children it’s not something I should have to endure.”
One of their sons is now seven years old, and McClean’s boos at games have often had to be explained because “they don’t want Daddy’s team to win.” Booing is a far cry from social media posts.
“The first lines of what you’ve seen on my Instagram this week are something I get every day,” says the 31-year-old.
“It’s easy to let that go, but then you see the other line about burning down the house with your kids inside. That’s just one sick person.
Online abuse has often spread to real-life encounters, even when he’s out with his family.
“I remember stopping at a stoplight in Sunderland and someone rolled down the window and spat at the car. The stoplight turned green and it sped off. Erin was pregnant at the time with our first child.
“There are other times when I go out with the kids and comments are made. People don’t care if I’m with my kids. It’s a situation I shouldn’t be in when I’m shopping or eating. It doesn’t happen all the time. time, but there is a risk that it will happen every time I go out.
“The media has a very important role to play. In the world we live in, people believe what they read, whether it is true or not.”
“The media plays a very important role in the way they portray someone. It is dangerous and they are not held responsible. No matter what they do, good or bad, they mention the poppy in every situation.”
In 2013, while playing in Wigan, he wrote an open letter to President Dave Whelan explaining that he had “total respect” for those who died in both world wars.
McClean’s decision not to use the poppy is instead a show of support for his hometown of Derry in Northern Ireland, the scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings.
McClean wrote an open letter to Dave Whelan while in Wigan expressing respect for those who served in the World Wars.
“People abuse me about the poppy situation, but they don’t take the time to educate themselves on why. It’s just ignorance.
“There is a perception that I hate everything English and British. Some of the best people I have met in football are British and English players and I have good relationships with many fans that I have met. If I had a problem with England I would not be here. , it’s strange that people can think that.
“I have points of view on certain aspects that I do not agree with or with which I do not support, but they are my points of view. I do not force them on anyone, but I feel that other points of view are imposed on me. Just because I am in This country does not mean that I forget who I am as a person or where I come from. “
Last year, McClean was fined by Stoke after posting a photo of him giving the children a ‘history lesson’ during the lockdown while wearing a ski mask.
“I get a lot of comments that say I provoke myself. I get the one with the balaclava, but I would tell those people to try to put themselves in my place with abuse day after day for years.
“It was silly of me. I was trying to be funny and there wasn’t much thought about the damage it could cause, but it was from eight years of constant abuse before that.
McClean was fined by Stoke for the image he posted of himself wearing a ski mask, which he regrets.
“You are just a human being and there will be times when you will stay, probably not in the right way. I get angry and frustrated because the authorities don’t say anything and it eats away at me. Sometimes everything boils and anger sets in. Ten minutes later I might think ‘you probably didn’t handle that in the best way’ but in the moment you just react. It bothers me that he gives these people some kind of justification.
It brings him to the broader issue of anti-Irish abuse and the winger has received many messages of support from other Irish footballers who have endured similar.
“A lot of people are being abused because of skin color or ethnicity. I don’t want to take anything away from those problems, but I’ve been getting this for a long period of time and it doesn’t stand out. That’s where my frustration comes from.
“I myself have been guilty because I have quite thick skin and I consider myself very resistant. Many things go over my head because it is common, but that is wrong. This is not a cry of sympathy, it is a call for the cease anti-Irish abuse.
“It is not just for athletes, but also for the Irish in general. It is no longer acceptable to be discounted or called paddy, pi ** yo leprechaun.
“I have a son who is crazy about football and says he wants to play for Stoke when he grows up. I don’t want him to have to go through this. I want him to be proud of who he is, and it’s not just him and any other young Irishman.” .
McClean was not impressed with the action taken by Facebook to the person who abused Yan Dhanda of Swansea.
McClean has welcomed recent efforts by social media companies to address the broader area of abuse, but was unimpressed by Facebook after the person who sent the racist abuse to Yan Dhanda of Swansea alone “was unable to message during a specified period of time “.
“I think that’s wrong,” says McClean.
“Someone can abuse you and temporarily suspend your account, but they will get it back soon. It’s a double standard. That’s what’s amazing. Everyone should be held accountable.
“I heard Anton Ferdinand say something last week about public figures being responsible for our actions. If we even retweet something that is told to us, we are responsible. We are fined, banned, and people lose their jobs. That is not temporary. .
“You must have some kind of identification to create an account. It should be verified with a passport or driver’s license. Everyone should know that it is you, otherwise you can keep creating a new account. I understand that it is difficult for social media platforms of means, but they need to do more. “
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