Sean McCann, swimmer

[TheAverageJoanne]

I noticed the swimmer Sean McCann is being described in every news story as Madeleine McCann's brother. AIBU to think this is unfair to the guy who's trained, qualified and got into the final? It feels very unfair.

Well if he does thats his choice
They seem like supportive parents.

I have never heard 'Andy Murray, who was in Dunblane school during the massacre.'

Never. In all the years he has been famous.

"Well if he does that's his choice."

Obviously.

In 2000 I was 17, my youngest was 9 and my mum was horrified at the idea someone would just leave kids in a hotel and go for dinner. My aunt and cousin had toddlers at the time and were also horrified. I even knew to be horrified as someone who babysat a lot. I'd say the scandal of the noughties was having 13/14 hr old kids babysit small children as the norm. No normal parent was leaving their kids alone in a hotel room. It was as big a scandal among the parents of the time as it is now. How old are you.?

Are you in scotland? Because it has definitely been discussed here. Not in a flippant way but in a very respectful and saddened way. Dunblane was such a terrible terrible tragedy.

Well done Sean McCann. What an achievement! I'm sure his family is super proud.

I am in England, but yes, of course I have heard of the Dunblane tragedy, it was horrific and I do remember it... (I was a very young adult at the time.) But as I said, I have never heard Andy Murray linked with it, (as a previous poster mentioned.) Maybe he has been mentioned regarding Dunblane in Scotland/in Scottish media, but I didn't know Andy Murray was involved in the Dunblane tragedy, and that is new information to me.

.

Dunblane was the very first thing I knew about Andy Murray.

It was a lot in the early days.

He refused to ever speak about it though which limited the amount the press could write about it. And then it got overtaken by “Is Judy Murray actually Lady Macbeth”. Which the papers had a lot more to write about as there was always some nobody who met them for 7 minutes 5 years beforehand who was willing to sell their story. And then that got overtaken by “A British player won Wimbledon”. Which is even more exciting than being rude about the appearance of a successful middle aged woman.

He did a very moving interview about his experience. What a shocking and tragic thing for anyone to experience.

Sadly it will never be dropped as long as our media is guided by "hits" and "algorithms".

The media know that by using Madeline McCanns name all the articles will be getting more views.

Whilst I agree with you it's disgusting I do think it's fantastic that people, particularly young people, can see a man who has been through unimaginable pain and trauma has gone onto achieve so much. He's a fabulous role model for resilience in many ways.

But yes, it's not good at all in every other way.

I'm glad that Sean is having this success, and I think Amelie is also successful as a sportswoman.
It's inevitable that their missing sister will always be referred to, but it sounds as if they have full and productive lives.

I wish they'd just leave him alone. They were even focusing on his parents and sister in the audience. We all know who they are. We don't need reminding every time he competes.

Unfortunately, that's what the press do. It's for the clicks, isn't it?

I think this is selective memory though. I have children the same age. I didn't leave them alone, but it was not unusual. Baby listening service was a common thing in hotels. Everything changed after Madeleine.

Completely agree, the headlines are over the top.

It was nice to see the McCanns smiling. Must be such a bitter sweet.moment for them.

It was very unusual among anyone I know. It's not selective memory. Also they didn't even use the baby listening service.

You can still change your vote by hitting on YANBU.

I'm not really sure you can compare being referred to as a celebrity's child and being constantly reminded of a massive trauma that has probably shaped his and his entire families lives for the past 19 years.

Och, you’re joking. That’s so despicable and depressing.
I also agree that there should be more accountability.
Poor lad. I wish him nothing but the best as he clearly deserves it.

I've thought exactly the same, every news article I see written about him he isn't referred to as his name but as someone else's brother, then there's the vile comments on every post written, I feel sorry for him. He shouldn't have to live in the shadow of something terrible that happened to his poor sister, he should be celebrated for his achievements and hard work and they should refer to him as Sean McCann.

They need to stop photographing his parent's and sister watching too and leave his family alone, I haven't seen photos of any of the other swimmers parent's in the crowd. Just leave them be.

Social media is a cesspit at times, isn't it?

Agree.

It was not unusual for people to leave their children alone at the time. Some people did, some people didn't. Times have changed.

Anyway, this thread is about Sean so think we should return to that.

I don't think it is selective memory, by 2007 most people wouldn't dream of using baby listening services, I didn't know a single person who had and everyone was horrified that they'd been left alone, even people of my parents age and I was born in the 80s

I think its an attempt to get a story out of the commonwealth games to be honest - a human interest angle - he wouldn't be in the news at all without the connection. i don't think ive seen any other stories on other swimmers at ll

But i think if he carries on being successful it will be his success that is the story and not his sister