Angry dad says son has been 'pretty devastated' since Deadspin writer accused 9-year-old of wearing blackface to Chiefs game

The father of Holden Armenta — the 9-year-old boy accused by Deadspin writer Carron J. Phillips of wearing blackface to a Kansas City Chiefs game over the weekend — told Fox News' Jesse Watters that he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the rather dubious controversy has taken on his son.

"He's pretty devastated," Holden's dad Bubba said of his son, adding that it was his "dream to get on the Jumbotron" for the game.

What's the background?

Phillips used a photo for his Deadspin piece showing only half of Holden's face, which was black.

As most of us know by now, the other half of Holden's face was red — one of the Chiefs' team colors.

Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in his effort to double down against numerous critics railing against him, used a non-sequitur that accused them of hating Mexicans.

"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," Phillips wrote in an X post, which now appears to have been deleted. "Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco."

What's more, Holden's mother — Shannon Armenta — stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American.

Fox News said the Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation.

Dubiously, Phillips wrote in his Deadspin piece that Holden "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time."

In addition, a recent update to his Deadspin article notes that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians released a statement "condemning" the "wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation." Strangely, the full statement from the tribe, which is included in the update, does not use the word "condemn" — rather that the tribe "does not endorse" the aforementioned activities.

What else did Holden and his dad have to say?

Holden's dad told Watters that "we never in any way, shape, or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes. The tribe we're from doesn't even wear that type of headdress. This specific headdress is a novelty piece. It's a costume piece. That's exactly what we had purchased it for and wore it for — not in any disrespect toward any Native Americans at all."

Holden's father also acknowledged that he's seen a "whirlwind of comments" about his son's headdress and that some tribal members "think it's OK, some think it's not OK" but that ultimately "it's a 9-year-old boy supporting his team."

In addition, Holden's dad told Watters that it’s "a little too late" for an apology from Phillips because the "damage is already done."

"It's, you know, worldwide. Now, there's comments all over. There's, you know, disrespect toward Native Americans and toward my family," Bubba said.

As for Holden, he told Watters that the reaction so far is "OK because a lot of kids at school are getting excited, but it's starting to get me a little nervous because if they go a little bit overboard it's a little scary."

On the positive side, Holden added to Watters that it feels "really good" to know that Chiefs fans apparently are planning to wear black and red face paint at the next game to support him.

Young Kansas City Chiefs fan smeared as racist speaks out: ‘It’s a little scary’youtu.be

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