[[{“value”:”The family of a young Kansas City Chiefs fan have sued Deadspin for defamation after a reporter for the outlet labeled the child racist.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, follows a report published by writer Carron J. Phillips that accused 9-year-old Holden Armenta of wearing black face.
In the story, Phillips wrote that Armenta had “found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time” with his face paint at a Chiefs game.
Armenta’s face was painted red and black, the Kansas City Chiefs’ colors.
The 9-year-old’s family later revealed his Native American heritage.
UPDATE: Young Kansas City Chiefs Fan Falsely Smeared For Wearing ‘Black Face’ Is Native American
“The Article falsely alleged that H.A. had ‘found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time,’” the lawsuit read.
“It alleged that H.A.’s parents, Shannon and Raul, ‘taught’ H.A. ‘racism and hate’ at home. It intentionally painted a picture of the Armenta Family as anti-Black, anti-Native American bigots who proudly engaged in the worst kind of racist conduct motivated by their family’s hatred for Black and Native Americans,” it added.
JUST IN — The family of the 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs who was smeared by Deadspin have filed a lawsuit.
“He did not wear a costume headdress because he was ‘taught hate at home.’ He wore it because he loves the Chiefs and because he loves his Native American heritage.” pic.twitter.com/VN7TIHim3R
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 7, 2024
The Washington Examiner reports:
The Armenta family states in their lawsuit that “none” of Deadspin’s story was true, pointing to how half of Holden Armenta’s face was painted black while the other was painted red, mimicking the Chiefs’ team colors. The lawsuit also pointed to how Holden Armenta is of Native American descent, and that the Native American headdress he wore to the game was worn because he loves both his heritage and the Chiefs football team.
The lawsuit asks for the court to give the Armenta family “a narrowly-tailored injunction prohibiting the republication of any statement or image adjudicated to be false and defamatory.” Additionally, it also asks for the family to be given “all costs, disbursements, fees, and interest as authorized by law.”
In the wake of Deadspin’s defamatory article, many have slammed it for pushing a false narrative, with media personality Joe Rogan greatly criticizing it. Holden Armenta’s father, Bubba Armenta, explained that he had been “upset” over the accusations against his son, and that it was “a little too late” for an apology.
Ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday, in which the Chiefs are playing against the San Francisco 49ers, a fundraiser has been launched online to send Holden Armenta and his father to the big game. One of the men who started the petition told the Washington Examiner he wanted to “turn something dark into something light for them” after the ordeal the family has gone through. As of Wednesday, roughly $7,500 had been donated to the cause.
BREAKING: The parents of the defamed 9-year-old Chiefs fan are suing Deadspin.
Deadspin smeared Holden Armenta (9) and falsely accused him of blackface & racism, leaving out the half of his face painted red (Chiefs colors). His grandfather is a Native American tribesman.
The… pic.twitter.com/KZUcFoIJoF
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 7, 2024
BREAKING: Holden Armenta’s family is suing Deadspin reporter Carron Phillips for defamation after he wrongly accused the boy of wearing blackface. pic.twitter.com/hygPqdvx2S
— Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) February 7, 2024
The Daily Caller added:
The boy’s parents threatened to sue Deadspin and its owner, G/O Media, unless the outlet immediately retracted the story. The outlet instead included an editor’s note stating the article focused on the National Football League’s (NFL) “failure” to extend anti-racist rules across the entire league.
“Deadspin did not retract the Article, and it did not apologize,” the complaint states. “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.”
The lawsuit alleges Armenta’s grades and test scores have dropped in school since the article’s publication and has caused his father, Raul, to become a “pariah” at work. The family has also considered moving out of state over the incident.
Armenta has suffered “a devastating loss” of his “innocence of youth” and an “encumbered love for his favorite football team and its players, according to the suit.”}]] [[{“value”:”
The family of a young Kansas City Chiefs’ fan has sued Deadspin over defamation, after a reporter from the outlet called the child racist.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday following a report by Carron J. Phillips, a writer who accused Holden Armenta, 9, of wearing blackface.
Phillips wrote in the article that Armenta “found a means to hate Black people and Native Americans at the Same Time” with his face-paint at a Chiefs match.
Armenta was painted in the Kansas City Chiefs colors of red and black.
Later, the family of the 9-year old revealed that he is Native American.
UPDATE: A Kansas City Chiefs fan who was falsely accused of wearing ‘black face’ is Native American
The article falsely claimed that H.A. The lawsuit stated that H.A.
“It was alleged that H.A.’s parents, Shannon, and Raul ‘taught H.A. “Racism and hatred” at home. It deliberately painted a picture that the Armenta family were anti-Black and anti-Native American racists who proudly engaged the worst kind racism motivated by their hatred for Blacks and Native Americans,” the article added.
JUST IN — The family has filed a lawsuit against Deadspin for smearing the 9-year old Kansas City Chiefs.
“He didn’t wear a headdress because he had been taught hate at home.” He wore it out of love for the Chiefs, and his Native American heritage.” pic.twitter.com/VN7TIHim3R
Citizen Free Press @CitizenFreePres February 7, 2024
The Washington Examiner reports
The Armenta family claims in their lawsuit that the Deadspin story is “false”. They point out how half of Holden Armenta was painted black, while the other half was painted red to mimic the Chiefs team colors. The lawsuit also stated that Holden Armenta was of Native American descent and that he wore the Native American headdress to the game because he loved both his heritage and Chiefs football team.
The lawsuit asks the court to grant the Armenta family a “narrowly-tailored” injunction that prohibits the republication of any statements or images adjudicated as false and defamatory. It also asks the family to receive “all costs, disbursements and fees as authorized by law.”
Joe Rogan, a media personality, was among those who criticized Deadspin for its defamatory article. Bubba Armenta explained that he was “upset” by the accusations made against his son and that an apology was “a little late”.
Online fundraising has been launched to send Holden Armenta, his father and other family members to the Super Bowl in 2024, where the Chiefs will be playing the San Francisco 49ers. The Washington Examiner reported that one of the men behind the petition wanted to “turn a dark situation into something lighter for them”, after the ordeal they had gone through. As of Wednesday, approximately $7,500 was donated to the cause.
BREAKING: Deadspin is being sued by the parents of a 9-year-old Chiefs’ fan who was defamed.
Deadspin falsely accused Holden Armenta (9), a Native American tribesman, of blackface and racism. They left out the red half of his face (Chiefs’ colors). His grandfather is Native American tribesman.
The… pic.twitter.com/KZUcFoIJoF
— End Wokeness – February 7, 2024
Holden Armenta’s family is suing Deadspin journalist Carron Phillips over defamation. Phillips wrongly accused Armenta of wearing blackface. pic.twitter.com/hygPqdvx2S
— Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) February 7, 2024
The Daily Caller has been added:
The boy’s father threatened to sue Deadspin, its owner G/O Media unless they immediately retracted the article. The outlet included an editor’s message stating that the article focused on National Football League (NFL)’s “failure to extend anti-racist laws across the entire league.”
The complaint states that “Deadspin didn’t retract the Article and it didn’t apologize.” “Rather, Deadspin published a series further ‘updates,’ which not only failed correct the record but instead established that Deadspin understood the Article’s highly defamatory and damaging nature — while maliciously refusing back down. Deadspin’s attorneys threatened the Armentas with counter-legal actions if Raul and Shannon tried to hold Phillips, Deadspin and their defamatory article accountable.
The lawsuit claims that Armenta’s test scores and grades have fallen since the publication of the article, and has made his father Raul a “pariah at work”. The family considered moving out-of-state over the incident.
According to the lawsuit, Armenta suffered “a devastating” loss of his “innocence” of youth and a “encumbered” love for his favorite team and its football players.
“}]]
