Deadspin vilified a young Chiefs fan over face paint. The boy just did his painted victory dance in person at the Super Bowl.



Deadspin vilified a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan last year for wearing face paint to a game. The article, penned by Deadspin senior writer Carron Phillips, alleged the boy "found a way to hate Black people and Native Americans at the same time."

The family of the traduced child filed a lawsuit against Deadspin last week. Fortunately, the boy did not have to wait until the suit's resolution for a major win.

Holden Armenta donned more paint and feathers to support his team Sunday and watched them beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in person at Super Bowl LVIII.

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According to the Washington Examiner, a group led by Patriots Prayer host Eddie Smith along with "Skin in the Game" co-hosts Maurice — known online as the Native Patriot — and Anthony Chavez raised over $11,000 to send Armenta to the big game.

Their GiveSendGo campaign noted, "We believe in supporting Holden's Superbowl [sic] dream to counteract the unjust treatment he received from the media. Our goal is to send Holden to the Superbowl, allowing him to experience the joy of being a dedicated Chiefs fan without the shadow of false accusations."

Maurice told the Examiner, "Just the demonization that that kid went through and that family went through. I wanted to turn something dark into something light for them, so that way he can go back out there and basically get a second shot."

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Blaze News previously reported that Holden Armenta was smeared by Deadspin's Carron Phillips after wearing an Indian headdress to a November 2023 game between the Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders.

The original article — which has since been partially revised but nevertheless maintains its initial argument — was entitled, "The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress."

Holden Armenta, a child of Chumash Indian heritage, had dared to wear his favorite team's colors to the Chiefs-Raiders game on Nov. 26. Extra to his jersey and an Indian headdress, he painted one side of his face red and the other side black.

The Deadspin article featured an image of the child in profile such that only the black-painted side of his face could be seen.

Phillips' article started off weighed down with presumptions: "It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."

Phillips exploited this false narrative to suggest that "this is what happens when you ban books, stand against Critical Race Theory, and try to erase centuries of hate. You give future generations the ammunition they need to evolve and create racism better than before."

In addition to slamming the child, Phillips, who still writes for Deadspin, insinuated that Holden Armenta's family "taught" the boy to hate black people and Indians.

When critics lashed out at Phillips and Deadspin over their hit piece targeting a child, Phillips doubled down, accusing his critics of being racist as well.

The family filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware on Feb. 6 seeking damages and a "narrowly-tailored injunction" prohibiting the republication of any statement or image found by the jury to be false and defamatory.

The suit stressed that the hit piece "maliciously and wantonly" attacked "a nine-year-old boy and his parents for Phillips' own race-drenched political agenda."

A race-obsessive writer evidently couldn't hold Holden Armenta down.

Footage shows the boy decked out in his Indian war paint and headdress leaving a Nevada hotel with his father for the game. In addition to showing off his ceremonial touchdown dance, Holden also demonstrated his practiced tomahawk chop.

Shannon Armenta, the boy's mother, indicated in a pregame video, "We are so grateful to everyone who has supported our family. It means the world to us, so thank you.

Eddie Smith said, "On to the next one, guys. This is just one victory in many."

Skin in the game live holden going to the Super Bowl https://t.co/XMINB40cTE
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The Native Patriot wrote in a Sunday afternoon post to X, "I feel blessed and honored to be part of this movement. We have taken a dark smear against a child and turned it into something incredible! ... I believe this is a huge win against cancel culture, and against the dark side of the media that only wishes to destroy, smear, and defame."

My immediate reaction to this.\n\n I feel blessed and honored to be a part of this movement. We have taken a dark smear against a child and turned it into something incredible! \n\n The Armenta\u2019s are amazing people. I\u2019m blessed to have met them. \n\n Every one that took a part\u2026
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Deadspin adds editor's note to story about kid wearing blackface following lawsuit threat; removes photo, changes headline



Deadspin has added an editor's note to its story that accused a 9-year-old boy of wearing blackface to a Kansas City Chiefs game — and culturally appropriating Native Americans by wearing a headdress to the event — in the wake of a lawsuit threat from the boy's parents.

In addition, the outlet removed the story's photo showing the boy with only half his face painted black — the other half, as it turned out, was painted red, in line with the Chiefs' team colors:

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Deadspin also changed the story's headline and said it took down links and posts related to its initial story.

The editor's note reads as follows:

On Nov. 27, Deadspin published an opinion piece criticizing the NFL for allowing a young fan to attend the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 26 wearing a traditional Native American headdress and, based upon the available photo, what appeared to be black face paint.

Unfortunately the article drew attention to the fan, though our intended focus was on the NFL and its checkered history on race, an issue which our writer has covered extensively for Deadspin. Three years ago, the Chiefs banned fans from wearing headdresses in Arrowhead Stadium, as well as face painting that “appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions.” The story’s intended focus was the NFL and its failure to extend those rules to the entire league.

We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan. To that end, our story was updated on Dec. 7 to remove any photos, tweets, links, or otherwise identifying information about the fan. We have also revised the headline to better reflect the substance of the story.

Here are the details relating to the new headline and photo:

  • The initial headline read, "The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress"; the new headline reads, "The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands (UPDATED)."
  • The new photo for the story shows NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

OutKick noted that the updated story also no longer contains the following lead paragraph: "It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time." An updated paragraph now reads: "It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, someone in the stands at the Kansas City Chiefs game found a way, leading to lots of unanswered questions."

What's the background?

Last week the parents of Holden Armenta threatened to sue Deadspin and demanded a retraction and apology, NewsNation reported.

In relation to the cultural appropriation accusation, Holden's mother stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American. The Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation, Fox News said.

Holden's father told Fox News' Jesse Watters that he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the controversy has taken on his son: "He's pretty devastated."

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According to a letter NewsNation said it obtained, Holden’s parents — Shannon and Raul Armenta — hired Clare Locke LLP to threaten action against Phillips, Deadspin, G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners.

“These Articles, posts on X, and photos about Holden and his parents must be retracted immediately. It is not enough to quietly remove a tweet from X or disable the article from Deadspin’s website," the letter reads, according to NewsNation. "You must publish your retractions and issue an apology to my clients with the same prominence and fanfare with which you defamed them."

Prior to the lawsuit threat, Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in an effort to double down against numerous critics railing against him, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse," Phillips wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

As it happens, the posts on Phillips' X account are now protected.

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Biggest Threat to US? | 12/5/23

Biggest Threat to US? | 12/5/23

Parents of 9-year-old boy accused of wearing blackface threaten to sue Deadspin; demand retraction, apology: Report



The parents of a 9-year-old boy accused by a Deadspin writer of wearing blackface during a Kansas City Chiefs football game threatened to sue the outlet and demanded a retraction and apology, NewsNation reported.

What's the background?

The writer of the article, Carron J. Phillips, used a photo for his Deadspin piece showing only half of Holden Armenta's face, which was black. Problem is, the other half of Holden's face was red — one of the Chiefs' team colors:

— (@)

What's more, Holden's mother stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American. The Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation, Fox News said.

Dubiously, Phillips wrote in his Deadspin piece that Holden "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."

Holden's father told Fox News' Jesse Watters that he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the controversy has taken on his son: "He's pretty devastated."

Parents reportedly hire law firm

According to a letter NewsNation said it obtained, Holden’s parents — Shannon and Raul Armenta — hired Clare Locke LLP to threaten action against Phillips, Deadspin, G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners.

“These Articles, posts on X, and photos about Holden and his parents must be retracted immediately. It is not enough to quietly remove a tweet from X or disable the article from Deadspin’s website," the letter reads, according to NewsNation. "You must publish your retractions and issue an apology to my clients with the same prominence and fanfare with which you defamed them."

NewsNation added that Clare Locke helped Dominion Voting Systems win a $787.5 million settlement against Fox News.

Anything else?

Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in his effort to double down against numerous critics railing against him, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse," Phillips wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

In addition, a recent update to his Deadspin article notes that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians released a statement "condemning" the "wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation." Strangely, the full statement from the tribe, which is included in the update, does not use the word "condemn" — rather that the tribe "does not endorse" the aforementioned activities.

Holden's father acknowledged in his interview with Watters that he's seen a "whirlwind of comments" about his son's headdress and that some tribal members "think it's OK, some think it's not OK" but that ultimately "it's a 9-year-old boy supporting his team."

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Holden's dad also told Watters that it’s "a little too late" for an apology from Phillips because the "damage is already done."

What's more, Phillips on Thursday posted a pair of entries on the X platform calling attention to a Native American tribe's reaction to Holden wearing a headdress. Phillips didn't use words to preface his pair of posts; instead he employed "eyeball" emojis, which typically are used as a "Look at this!" signal to readers.

In response, X users became furious and were in the process of ratioing each entry into oblivion (i.e., when comments outnumber likes) and blasting him. It appears, however, that the X posts in question have been deleted.

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Deadspin writer who said kid wore blackface tries to keep story afloat. Disgusted social media users push back with contempt.



Carron J. Phillips — the Deadspin writer who accused a 9-year-old boy of wearing blackface to a Kansas City Chiefs game — on Thursday posted two entries on the X platform calling attention to a Native American tribe's reaction to the kid wearing a headdress.

Philllips didn't use words to preface his pair of posts; instead he employed "eyeball" emojis, which typically are used as a "Look at this!" signal to readers.

But Phillips' attempt to keep his story afloat appeared only to make X users furious, as they're in the process of ratioing each entry into oblivion (i.e., when comments outnumber likes) and blasting him for "still harassing children" among other things.

Here's a tiny sampling from the nearly 1,500 comments — and counting — on one post:

Image source: X

What is the background?

Phillips used a photo for his Deadspin piece showing only half of Holden Armenta's face, which was black.

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Problem is, the other half of Holden's face was red — one of the Chiefs' team colors.

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Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in his effort to double down against numerous critics railing against him, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse," Phillips wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

What's more, Holden's mother — Shannon Armenta — stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American.

Fox News said the Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation.

— (@)

Dubiously, Phillips wrote in his Deadspin piece that Holden "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."

In addition, a recent update to his Deadspin article notes that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians released a statement "condemning" the "wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation." Strangely, the full statement from the tribe, which is included in the update, does not use the word "condemn" — rather that the tribe "does not endorse" the aforementioned activities.

Fox News' Jesse Watters on Wednesday interviewed Holden and his dad, Bubba, who said he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the rather dubious controversy has taken on his son: "He's pretty devastated."

'Racist racist racist racist'

Here's another sample of comments out of over 400 — and counting — ripping Phillips under the other post:

Image source: X

Anything else?

Holden's father also acknowledged that he's seen a "whirlwind of comments" about his son's headdress and that some tribal members "think it's OK, some think it's not OK" but that ultimately "it's a 9-year-old boy supporting his team."

In addition, Holden's dad told Watters that it’s "a little too late" for an apology from Phillips because the "damage is already done."

On the positive side, Holden said it feels "really good" to know that Chiefs fans apparently are planning to wear black and red face paint at the next game to support him.

Greg Gutfeld had a thing or two to say about the controversy as well Wednesday night:

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Angry dad says son has been 'pretty devastated' since Deadspin writer accused 9-year-old of wearing blackface to Chiefs game



The father of Holden Armenta — the 9-year-old boy accused by Deadspin writer Carron J. Phillips of wearing blackface to a Kansas City Chiefs game over the weekend — told Fox News' Jesse Watters that he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the rather dubious controversy has taken on his son.

"He's pretty devastated," Holden's dad Bubba said of his son, adding that it was his "dream to get on the Jumbotron" for the game.

What's the background?

Phillips used a photo for his Deadspin piece showing only half of Holden's face, which was black.

— (@)

As most of us know by now, the other half of Holden's face was red — one of the Chiefs' team colors.

— (@)

Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in his effort to double down against numerous critics railing against him, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse," Phillips wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

What's more, Holden's mother — Shannon Armenta — stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American.

Fox News said the Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation.

Dubiously, Phillips wrote in his Deadspin piece that Holden "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."

In addition, a recent update to his Deadspin article notes that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians released a statement "condemning" the "wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation." Strangely, the full statement from the tribe, which is included in the update, does not use the word "condemn" — rather that the tribe "does not endorse" the aforementioned activities.

What else did Holden and his dad have to say?

Holden's dad told Watters that "we never in any way, shape, or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes. The tribe we're from doesn't even wear that type of headdress. This specific headdress is a novelty piece. It's a costume piece. That's exactly what we had purchased it for and wore it for — not in any disrespect toward any Native Americans at all."

Holden's father also acknowledged that he's seen a "whirlwind of comments" about his son's headdress and that some tribal members "think it's OK, some think it's not OK" but that ultimately "it's a 9-year-old boy supporting his team."

In addition, Holden's dad told Watters that it’s "a little too late" for an apology from Phillips because the "damage is already done."

"It's, you know, worldwide. Now, there's comments all over. There's, you know, disrespect toward Native Americans and toward my family," Bubba said.

As for Holden, he told Watters that the reaction so far is "OK because a lot of kids at school are getting excited, but it's starting to get me a little nervous because if they go a little bit overboard it's a little scary."

On the positive side, Holden added to Watters that it feels "really good" to know that Chiefs fans apparently are planning to wear black and red face paint at the next game to support him.

Young Kansas City Chiefs fan smeared as racist speaks out: ‘It’s a little scary’ youtu.be

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Surprise! Young Chiefs Fan Targeted By Deadspin’s Phony Blackface Hoax Is Native American

After legacy media smeared him as racist for wearing Indian garb, it's been confirmed that Chiefs fan Holden Armenta is Native American.

Deadspin, other media outlets ripped young Chiefs fan for wearing 'black face,' headdress. His mom says he's Native American.



Deadspin and other outlets have been hit with backlash after accusing a young Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing "black face" at the Chiefs' away game Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Deadspin writer Carron J. Phillips used a photo for his piece showing only half of the kid's face, which was black.

— (@)

As most of us know by now, the other half of the kid's face was red — one of the Chiefs' team colors.

— (@)

Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in his effort to double down against his critics, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse," he wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

Elon Musk, owner of X, didn't seem to see things Phillips' way: "And another @CommunityNotes win exposing deception."

A whole new problem

Well, at least Phillips, Deadspin, and other outlets can fall back on their accusation that the young fan was at least guilty of cultural appropriation for wearing a headdress, right?

Not so fast.

Turns out the boy's mother, Shannon Armenta, stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American.

A commenter on Shannon Armenta's Facebook page noted, "I think the funniest part is that he’s literally Chumash, too ... oh god I’m dying." Tawnee Armenta added: "I was dying reading all the comments on Reddit — up in arms. Cultural Appropriation, racism … I was cracking up. Literally a Native baby & his great uncle was an actual Tribal CHIEF!!! Go Lil Bud!!!! Do your thang!!!!! You’re famous now!!!!!"

Here's a clip of him in action at the Chiefs-Raiders game:

How are others reacting?

Musk added a much harsher assessment of Phillips in reaction to an End Wokeness post:

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Others are also up in arms over the controversy. To wit:

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Phillips' X page as of Wednesday afternoon didn't contain further commentary on his Deadspin piece. The New York Post said it has reached out to Phillips, Deadspin, and Shannon Armenta for comment.

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Young Chiefs Fan Should Sue Deadspin Into Oblivion For Inventing Blackface Hoax About Him

The family of the young Chiefs fan at the center of Deadspin's apparently defamatory blackface smear should sue the outlet into oblivion.