Family Of Native American 'Blackface' Kid Sues Deadspin
The family of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan falsely accused of wearing blackface by a race-baiting Deadspin reporter are now suing the outlet for "maliciously and wantonly" attacking the child, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.
Deadspin senior writer Carron Phillips wrote that the child, Holden Armenta, had "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."
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
Following publication of the article, Holden's parents - Shannon and Raul Armenta, hired law firm Clare Locke LLP. The firm previously won a $787.5 million settlement against Fox News for Dominion Voting Systems (resulting in Tucker Carlson's ouster). The Armentas accused the outlet of having a "race-drenched political agenda," according to the complaint - which states that the accusations caused "enormous damage" to their family, and that they've received death threats and a "barrage of hate," the Daily Caller reports.
"By selectively capturing from the CBS broadcast an image of H.A. showing only the one side of his face with black paint on it—an effort that took laser-focused precision to accomplish given how quickly the boy appeared on screen—Phillips and Deadspin deliberately omitted the half of H.A.’s face with red paint on it," reads the complaint.
The complaint clarified Armenta did not wear blackface, pointing out that the boy neither knows what blackface is nor wore the faceprint or headdress to symbolize racism. The complaint reiterated previous reports that Armenta is Native American. The headdress the boy wore resembles the traditional logo from the 1960s and early 70s.
“H.A. did not wear a costume headdress because he was ‘taught hate at home’—he wore it because he loves the Kansas City Chiefs’ football team and because he loves his Native American heritage,” the complaint reads.
The suit further alleges Deadspin and Phillips knew the boy did not wear blackface, but decided to write an article “viciously race-baiting” a young boy to “generate clicks.” -Daily Caller
The family initially threatened to sue Deadspin and its owner, G/O Media, unless they retracted the story. Instead, the outlet added an editor's note which called out the NFL's alleged "failure" to extend anti-racist rules across the league.
"Deadspin did not retract the Article, and it did not apologize," reads the complaint. "Rather, it published a series of further ‘updates’ that not only failed to correct the record, but instead established that Deadspin fully understood the Article’s highly damaging and defamatory nature—while maliciously refusing to back down. And Deadspin’s lawyers threatened the Armenta family with counter-legal action should Raul and Shannon attempt to hold Phillips and Deadspin accountable for their false and defamatory Article."
BREAKING: The parents of 9-year old Holden Armenta are threatening to sue Deadspin for slandering their son by saying he wore "Black face."
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 4, 2023
Do it! 🔥
Shannon and Raul Armenta have hired Clare Locke LLP, demanding that they issue a retraction of the viral story.
It gets better:… pic.twitter.com/gJShq1MFKW
What's more, the family claims that Armenta's grades have fallen, and that his father, Raul, is now a "pariah" at work. Armenta has also suffered a "devastating loss" of his "innocence of youth," and an "encumbered love for his favorite football team and its players."
