Deadspin adds editor's note to story about kid wearing blackface following lawsuit threat; removes photo, changes headline

Deadspin has added an editor's note to its story that accused a 9-year-old boy of wearing blackface to a Kansas City Chiefs game — and culturally appropriating Native Americans by wearing a headdress to the event — in the wake of a lawsuit threat from the boy's parents.

In addition, the outlet removed the story's photo showing the boy with only half his face painted black — the other half, as it turned out, was painted red, in line with the Chiefs' team colors:

Deadspin also changed the story's headline and said it took down links and posts related to its initial story.

The editor's note reads as follows:

On Nov. 27, Deadspin published an opinion piece criticizing the NFL for allowing a young fan to attend the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 26 wearing a traditional Native American headdress and, based upon the available photo, what appeared to be black face paint.

Unfortunately the article drew attention to the fan, though our intended focus was on the NFL and its checkered history on race, an issue which our writer has covered extensively for Deadspin. Three years ago, the Chiefs banned fans from wearing headdresses in Arrowhead Stadium, as well as face painting that “appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions.” The story’s intended focus was the NFL and its failure to extend those rules to the entire league.

We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan. To that end, our story was updated on Dec. 7 to remove any photos, tweets, links, or otherwise identifying information about the fan. We have also revised the headline to better reflect the substance of the story.

Here are the details relating to the new headline and photo:

• The initial headline read, "The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress"; the new headline reads, "The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands (UPDATED)."
• The new photo for the story shows NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

OutKick noted that the updated story also no longer contains the following lead paragraph: "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." An updated paragraph now reads: "It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, someone in the stands at the Kansas City Chiefs game found a way, leading to lots of unanswered questions."

What's the background?

Last week the parents of Holden Armenta threatened to sue Deadspin and demanded a retraction and apology, NewsNation reported.

In relation to the cultural appropriation accusation, Holden's mother stated on her Facebook page that her son actually is Native American. The Armenta family noted they are part of the Chumash tribe of California and used to live on a reservation, Fox News said.

Holden's father told Fox News' Jesse Watters that he's "mad" and "upset" about the toll the controversy has taken on his son: "He's pretty devastated."

According to a letter NewsNation said it obtained, Holden’s parents — Shannon and Raul Armenta — hired Clare Locke LLP to threaten action against Phillips, Deadspin, G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners.

“These Articles, posts on X, and photos about Holden and his parents must be retracted immediately. It is not enough to quietly remove a tweet from X or disable the article from Deadspin’s website," the letter reads, according to NewsNation. "You must publish your retractions and issue an apology to my clients with the same prominence and fanfare with which you defamed them."

Prior to the lawsuit threat, Blaze News writer Carlos Garcia pointed out that Phillips, in an 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."

As it happens, the posts on Phillips' X account are now protected.

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