Remember when a braindead columnist tried to accuse a 9-year-old Kansas
City Chiefs fan of wearing blackface at a football game in an op-ed for
Deadspin? Well, it appears the child’s family will be able to hold the
news outlet accountable for publishing the fallacious piece.

A Delaware judge declined to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against
Deadspin over the article, which attempted to paint the 9-year-old child
as a virulent racist.

The lawsuit was filed by California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his
wife, Shannon, on behalf of themselves and their son, Holden, who
attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders
last November.

According to the lawsuit, Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “H.A.”,
is a Chiefs fan who also loves his family’s Chumash-Indian heritage. He
wore a Chiefs jersey to the game, with his face painted half-red and
half-black, and a costume Native American headdress.

The author, Carron Phillips, wrote an article accusing the child of
wearing blackface because his face was painted half black and half red,
the colors of the team he was rooting for.

Bobby Burack

@burackbobby_
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Hey @carronJphillips, were you aware at the time of publication that the
little boy who you framed as a racist for wearing blackface wasn't
wearing blackface, but the double red and black paint to support the Chiefs?

Do you plan to apologize to him and his family?

In the article, the author not only pretended the boy was wearing
blackface, but also accused him of disrespecting Native Americans
because he was wearing a traditional headdress.

It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. On Sunday
afternoon in Las Vegas, someone in the stands at the Kansas City Chiefs
game wore a headdress and face paint that some observers found
objectionable, leading to lots of unanswered questions.

Why is Native American headdress banned in Arrowhead Stadium but not in
every stadium in the league?

The author claimed the boy had been taught “hatred” by his parents and
called on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to condemn the child and his
family.

Amazingly, when Phillips was called out for his blatant race-baiting
lie, he doubled down in a post on X. “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,” he wrote. “Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear
sombreros on Cinco [de Mayo].”

He later deleted the post. But the damage was already done. The child’s
family indicated they began receiving hateful messages and even death
threats over Phillips’ lie. One even threatened to murder Holden “with a
wood chipper,” according to the lawsuit.

The judge definitely made the right ruling in this case. Phillips’
article was clearly a deceptive way to stoke racial tensions. There is
nothing abnormal about this, as left-leaning members of the chattering
class have been doing this for years.

But the fact that he chose to use a child to ignite a racial controversy
is about as low as whale excrement. Hopefully, Deadspin will be held
accountable for publishing what was obviously a cynical attempt to
exploit racial tensions for attention.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2024/10/08/judge-rules-that-nine-year-old-nfl-fan-can-sue-the-crap-out-of-deadspin-for-false-blackface-allegations-n2180321