A consistent target for anti-Irish abuse and threats online, Republic of Ireland international James McClean addressed an ill-thought out social media post of his own and the irrational damage it caused on Wednesday's OTB AM.
In an exclusive interview on Wednesday's OTB AM, Ireland international James McClean detailed the extent of the abuse and threats he has received both online and in his day-to-day life.
Reflecting on how it has impacted both his own life and the lives of his family, he acknowledged a publicised mistake he made online, before charting the preposterous entitlement it gave some to explain away what is thrown at him as abuse 'he's asking for.'
"The balaclava post, right," he remarked, nodding toward an image he posted on Instagram last year in which he was wearing a balaclava while teaching his two very young children 'history.'
"That was ill-judged on my part and it was supposed to be funny with the balaclava and the caption, just one of those things you think is funny at the time... and don't really take into consideration the hurt it might cause some people.
"I tried to remove it but you know what social media is like these days when people screenshot things and when it is out there it is out there."
"But it annoyed me because it almost gave people justification for their actions and to abuse me."
In a wide-ranging interview about, McClean considered how he and his wife Erin plan to inform their children about the incessant abuse he has received.
A deeply serious issue for them both, he couldn't understand the flippancy of those who sought to equate his Instagram post with the abusive messages.
"People will [repost] the balaclava picture and say, 'Ah, well he brings it on himself'," he said. "They don't take the time to think that this balaclava post came after eight years of non-stop abuse.
"Although it was ill-judged, you put yourself in my shoes and take this kind of abuse day after day. At some point you are going to react, rightly or wrongly.
"It annoys me that this gave them some kind of justification."
Furthermore, McClean expressed his disbelief at the seriousness with which some people received this image.
"Do people genuinely think I sat down with my kids in a balaclava to talk to a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old about the Troubles," he asked. "If people think I'd be stupid enough to do that then I can't help them people.
"They're ignorant and don't want to be educated."
You can catch up with the James McClean interview on OTB AM in full right here
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