The family of Holden Armenta, a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan, is taking legal action against Deadspin and reporter Carron Phillips for defamation, the New York Post reported.
The controversy arose after Deadspin published an article accusing the boy of racism for wearing a Native American headdress and painting half his face black and the other red at a Chiefs game. In response, the Armenta family, under the legal counsel of Clare Locke LLP, is demanding a retraction and an apology.
The family's legal action includes threats of further litigation against Deadspin, publisher G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners.
"These Articles, posts on X, and photos about Holden and his parents must be retracted immediately," a letter obtained by NewsNation read. "It is not enough to quietly remove a tweet from X or disable the article from Deadspin's website. You must publish your retractions and issue an apology to my clients with the same prominence and fanfare with which you defamed them."
The article in question, authored by Phillips, featured a photo of Holden Armenta standing sideways, implying he was wearing blackface during the game while failing to show the red-painted side of his face. That led to widespread criticism and negative attention toward the boy and his family, with the article claiming the boy was disrespecting Black people and Native Americans.
The Armenta family has refuted these claims by highlighting Holden's Native American heritage; his grandfather is a board member of the Chumash Tribe in Santa Ynez, California, the Post Millennial reported.
Despite this, Phillips reportedly doubled down on his stance in a since-deleted tweet.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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