Deadspin has finally updated a viral story accusing a young Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing “blackface” after the youngster’s parents threatened legal action against the reporter and the sports outlet.
At one point on Thursday, the site quietly amended Carron J. Phillips’ Nov. 27 take on Native headdresses and insensitive face paint at NFL games with an editor’s note saying the publication “regrets[s] any suggestion that we are attacking” 9-year-old Holden Armenta.
Editors also removed the original header photo that showed Holden in profile wearing a traditional Native American headdress and his face painted black and red, two of the Chiefs’ four team colors, at the Nov. 26 game — and revised the headline so it no longer specifically called out the fan.
The article now runs with a picture of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“Three years ago, the Chiefs banned fans from wearing headdresses at Arrowhead Stadium, as well as face painting that was ‘consistent with American Indian culture and traditions.’ The focus is on the NFL and its failure to extend those rules to the rest of the league,” the editor lamented.
The original title specifically calls out 9-year-old Holden Armenta. Screenshot of the deadline
Phillips’ story – originally titled “NFL needs to speak out against Kansas City Chiefs fans in Black face, Native American headdresses” – sparked controversy when he accused the young fan of finding “a way to hate black people and Native Americans. At a time when the same.”
The child’s mother, Shannon Armenta, responded to Phillips’ report in a Facebook post documenting the youngster’s warm welcome at the stadium — and revealing that he is, in fact, of Native American heritage.
His grandfather, Raul Armenta, was a board member of the Chumash Tribe in Santa Ynez, California, according to the Millennial Post.
Phillips, however, refused to back down.
The youngster later said it was “a bit scary” to be accused of racism. FOX News
“For the idiots in my name who think this is a harmless act because the other side of his face is painted red, I can make the argument that it makes it worse,” he wrote in a since-deleted X post, according to Post Millennial.
Holden later told Fox News that it was “a little scary” to be labeled a racist by the media.
His family eventually threatened to sue the publication and the reporter if the story was not retracted.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
