White-Man-Bad Theme Is Wrong Again—Young KC Chiefs Fan Smeared for Wearing ‘Black Face’ Is Native American

An a**hole bully writer for a sports blog called Deadspin—since likely renamed Deadduck–targeted a child wearing face paint at a Kansas City Chiefs football game, attempting to smear the boy as wearing “black face.”

Sports Writer Attempts To Smear Child For Wearing ‘Black Face’ At NFL Game

The writer, Carron J. Phillips, posted a misleading picture of the child, showing only one side of his face.

X’s Community Notes explained:

[T]he other side of the boy’s face was painted red, thus wearing his team’s colors for the game.

Deadduck posted Monday:

The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress.

Community Notes corrected:

Blackface is the use of dark makeup to mimic and exaggerate the features of Black people in order to ridicule them.

This fan’s face is painted red & black to support the Kansas City Chiefs. Facepaint is a popular practice at NFL games and is not related to blackface.

Phillips wrote on Deadspin:

It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. 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.

Why did the camera person give this fan the attention?

Why did the producer allow that camera angle to be aired at all?

Is that fan a kid/teenager or a young adult?

Despite their age, who taught that person that what they were wearing was appropriate?

The answers to all of those questions lead back to the NFL. While it isn’t the league’s responsibility to stop racism and hate from being taught in the home, they are a league that has relentlessly participated in prejudice. If the NFL had outlawed the chop at Chiefs games and been more aggressive in changing the team’s name, then we wouldn’t be here.

And if Phillips was not a racist writing fabricating racism and hate, “we wouldn’t be here.”

But despite receiving massive criticism, Phillips doubled down on his smear of the young Kansas City Chiefs fan.

He wrote in a now-deleted post:

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. Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.

Community Notes explained:

The colors of the Kansas City Chiefs are red and black. The colors on the fan’s face are a reference to the team colors, not to races or skin colors.

After the uproar, a popular Kansas City Chiefs fan group identified the child.

‘Real Kansas City Chiefs Fans’ said the boy’s name is Holden Armenta and he’s Native American.

Update from Real Kansas City Chiefs Fans:

During Sundays broadcast Holden Armenta from California a Native that belongs to the Chumash Tribe. His Grandfather is on the Chumash Tribe board up in Santa Ynez. This is his family at Super Bowl LVII. Everyone is making a massive deal out of this and only trying to show one side of his face to push their narrative. Real Kansas City Chiefs Fans Salutes You Holden And Your Family[.]

Shannon Armenta stated on Facebook:

Everyone asked to take a photo with him. He’s Native American—people are ridiculous.

Armenta said in another post:

Odd to see my child on Fox News! Relieved that most people stand behind us!

Collin Rugg wrote:

The young boy who was labeled as wearing ‘blackface’ by Deadspin is Holden Armenta.

His mother, Shannon Armenta confirmed that her son was the one at the middle of the controversy on her Facebook page.

It gets even better: Chiefs players saw Holden during the game and decided to join him with his tomahawk chop.

Black players were so ‘offended’ by the ‘blackface’ that they copied Holden’s chop.

What an embarrassment for Deadspin.

WATCH:

One X user commented:

This is going to cost Deadspin and the washed-up writer dearly.