Earlier this week, a nine-year-old Kansas City Chiefs was called out by “Deadspin” for wearing red and black face paint with a Native headdress cheering on his favorite team.
Carron J. Phillips accused the boy of wearing “blackface” and finding a way to “hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time.”
Phillips initially shared a photo of the young boy with only half of his face covered in black paint before additional photos surfaced that showed Holden wearing half red and half black paint on his face. But that led to Phillips saying the red paint “makes it even worse.”
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Holden Armenta, 9, attends the Chiefs-Raiders game on November 26 in Las Vegas. ((Screenshot/Jesse Watters Primetime))
The boy’s family then said they were Native American and part of the Chumash tribe.
“Deadspin” has taken flack since Phillips’ story was published, and even a Georgia congressman joined the fray.
Rep. Mike Collins posted a photo of his headshot with faux red and black facepaint to show his support for the Georgia Bulldogs, who face Alabama in the SEC championship on Saturday.
Carson Beck, #15 of the Georgia Bulldogs, throws a pass during a game between Georgia Bulldogs Red and Georgia Bulldogs Black at Sanford Stadium on April 15, 2023, in Athens, Georgia. (Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
But, it was also a shot at the outlet.
“Ready to cheer on the Dawgs! @Deadspin,” Collins wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Phillips wrote, “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. Ya’ll are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on cinco.”
The boy’s dad, Bubba Armenta, said he had been “upset” and “pretty devastated” when he found out about Phillips’ “blackface” claims.
Armenta said it’s “a little too late” for an apology from the “Deadspin” reporter because the “damage is already done.”
Chiefs fan Holden Armenta does the Tomahawk Chop. ((Screenshot/Jesse Watters Primetime))
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“It’s, you know, worldwide. Now, there’s comments all over. There’s, you know, disrespect towards Native Americans and towards my family,” he told Jesse Watters earlier this week. “It’s been a whirlwind of comments coming even from other tribes, from tribal members. Some think it’s OK. Some think it’s not OK. It’s a nine-year-old boy supporting his team.”
The Bulldogs will look to win their 30th straight game on their path to a three-peat.
Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan and Joe Morgan contributed to this report.