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:

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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, 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.

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As most of us know by now, the other half of the kid'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 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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