The far-left sports and culture outlet Deadspin faced a backlash this week after one of its writers dedicated an entire article Monday to making it appear as though a young fan of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs not only showed up to a game in blackface but also offended Native Americans.
However, there were a number of glaring issues that quickly pointed to the article being a hoax. All of them could have been addressed had the outlet expected to be held accountable by the public.
First off, the child who was the subject of the vicious attack was not wearing blackface but rather had his face painted opposite and equal sides red and black, which are two of the Chiefs’ four colors.
Deadspin’s Carron J. Phillips shared a deceptive screen shot from the CBS telecast of the Chiefs’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders that showed only the side of the child’s face that was painted black.
The fact was pointed out by X’s community notes after Deadspin shared the report on the platform:
The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress https://t.co/9eGBsA8nca
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 27, 2023
Second, Phillips tore into the 9-year-old for wearing a Native American headdress. However, it turned out the boy is a member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe and his grandfather is part of that tribe’s elected government.
Those who follow the media are well aware that a great many of today’s activist reporters often get the story wrong — seeking not to inform but to achieve a political or social end.
In this case, Phillips used his platform at Deadspin to launch a botched attack against a child at a football game, and it backfired in such a dramatic fashion that it is slightly surprising he hasn’t resigned in disgrace and removed himself from social media.
Meanwhile, Deadspin stubbornly refused to update Phillips’ report with any of this information until Thursday afternoon.
His article attacking a kid for dressing up at a sports event carried much of the news cycle this week, so let’s go over exactly what happened.
Deadspin Slandered an Elementary School Child Who Attended an NFL Game
Holden Armenta, 9, attended Kansas City’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday while wearing red and black face paint, a headdress and a Travis Kelce jersey.
The CBS camera caught the child decked out in support of his team.
The following morning, Phillips fired off a post with the deceptive photo and a headline that read, “The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress.”
“It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once,” he wrote. “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.
“It was as if Jon Gruden’s emails had come to life. The image of a Chiefs fan in Black face wearing a Native headdress during a road game leads to so many unanswered questions.”
Phillips predictably went on to describe the NFL as well as the rest of society as irredeemably racist and called on the Chiefs to follow the path of the Washington Commanders (formerly the Redskins) and find a new name.
“There’s no place for a franchise to be called the ‘Chiefs’ in a league that’s already eradicated ‘Redskins,’” he opined. “This is what happens when you ban books, stand against Critical Race Theory, and try to erase centuries of hate.”
Phillips’ post was quickly picked apart when it was revealed the other side of Holden’s face was painted red, which was verifiable information at the time his article was published.
The Backlash Against Phillips Was Swift
Deadspin and Phillips immediately faced a backlash online for the article. It was quickly pointed out that the 9-year-old was simply wearing his team’s colors as war paint and was not portraying himself as a black person.
Hey @Deadspin, if you make a child the bad guy that makes you the bad guy.@ClayTravis pic.twitter.com/bY9BvEvQ6b
— OutKick (@Outkick) November 28, 2023
Why is @Deadspin @carronJphillips trying to ruin this little kid’s life? They’re accusing him of blackface but conveniently left out his full face which was painted for the game https://t.co/kFfgAL4aDH pic.twitter.com/750u5sfETE
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 28, 2023
Imagine trying to purposefully ruin a child’s life with a hit piece that is intentionally misleading.
Shame on @carronJphillips and @Deadspin https://t.co/DTeH6RsFS3 pic.twitter.com/dmOedcs2Cv
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 28, 2023
The backlash only grew when it was pointed out the child is himself an American Indian.
Deadspin writer @carronJphillips accused a young Native American boy of racism for wearing a headdress and face paint to cheer on the Chiefs.
The story has completely imploded. https://t.co/Gg006UdAbQ via @dailycaller
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) November 29, 2023
Turns out this child is Native American.
A real one, not like Elizabeth Warren.
They need to sue @Deadspin for everything they have. pic.twitter.com/BQtyLhyZP2— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) November 29, 2023
You people are such a disgrace. You purposely show one side of his face. He’s not in blackface he’s wearing chiefs colors and he’s Native American. AND HE’S A LITTLE KID. I hope his family sues you and puts you out of business. https://t.co/B7ggulxhiw
— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) November 29, 2023
What the Armenta Family Is Saying About Phillips’ Article
Holden and his father, Bubba Armenta, are members of California’s Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, the Washington Examiner reported. Meanwhile, Holden’s grandfather, Raul Armenta, sits on the tribe’s business committee and, per the tribe, spent more than two decades on its gaming commission.
🔸️This is the grandfather of the child who @carronJphillips & @Deadspin slandered & defamed after calling the boy a racist & claimed it was cultural appropriation to wear a Native American Headdress to a Kansas City Chiefs game.
🔸️It wasn’t bad enough to lie & say the kid… pic.twitter.com/NOmRlLGNOq— The Constitutional Conservative (@TheCCShowcast) November 29, 2023
Holden’s mother, Shannon Armenta, pointed out that her son is Native American in a Facebook post on Monday. She accused Deadspin of intentionally misrepresenting Holden’s game attire to create “division.”
Two days later, the child’s father weighed in.
During a Wednesday interview on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Holden and Bubba Armenta described what their lives had been like in the days since Phillips targeted them.
Armenta said his son had been “devastated” that his big moment on television had been ruined by Deadspin’s hit piece.
EXCLUSIVE: The 9-year-old Chiefs fan, who was falsely smeared as a racist for supporting his team, speaks out on Primetime.
Holden Armenta says this whole thing has been scary and overwhelming. His father, Bubba, says it’s too late for an apology- the damage is already done. pic.twitter.com/8T4WsMsvm6
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) November 30, 2023
Holden appeared to be in good spirits while talking about the issue with Watters. Meanwhile, Armenta explained the rationale behind Holden’s headdress.
“We never in any way, shape or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes,” the boy’s father said. “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.”
Phillips and Deadspin Refuse to Retract the Article or Apologize to the Child and His Family
On Thursday, Deadspin updated Phillips’ article with information that the Armenta family is Native American but peculiarly highlighted only part of a lengthy statement from their tribe in which it stated its members are free people who can wear what they wish.
The update from Deadspin reads, “Per Front Office Sports, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, whom the fan and his family are affiliated with, have released a statement condemning the ‘wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation.’”
The tribe’s full statement, which the outlet posted below the update, said, “We are aware that a young member of our community attended a Kansas City Chiefs game in a headdress and face paint in his way of supporting his favorite team. Please keep in mind that the decisions made by individuals or families in our community are their own and may not reflect the views of the broader tribal community.
“As a federally recognized tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians does not endorse wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation.”
Other than highlighting the final line of the tribe’s statement, Deadspin offered no apology to Holden, and the article by Phillips remains available as originally published.
Deadspin Has Been in an Eerily Similar Position Before
The far-left outlet, which appears to have dug in on attacking a child, is no stranger to false reporting regarding the issues of skin color and NFL football. Last year, after Mike McDaniel was hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Deadspin called him “not worthy” of such a job.
“Please stop and think before you inadvertently dub another young, white guy as the next hot NFL coaching prospect,” the outlet’s Sean Beckwith wrote.
The article was later amended with an editor’s note after the people at Deadspin learned what many already knew — McDaniel’s father was black.
“We learned after the publication of this article that 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, whom we describe as a ‘white guy,’ is in fact biracial,” the editor’s note said. “The article’s original text remains below. We regret the error.”
Attacking people and later issuing nonapology updates is officially a pattern for the site, which has a lack of credibility that is not uncommon. News outlets staffed by far-left activists now mostly represent a media the American people broadly no longer trust — and for good reason.
These are the same kinds of people who demanded that members of minority groups be removed from representing popular American brands and sports teams in 2020 following the country’s sweeping racial unrest.
As a result, Native Americans are largely no longer represented in pro sports outside of the Atlanta Braves and the Chiefs — both teams that use their mascots to honor American Indians, and not to make caricatures of them.
Meanwhile, a 2016 poll from The Washington Post found that nine out of 10 Native Americans who were asked about it said they were not offended in any way by the name “Redskins” when the issue of the team’s name was brought up.
