The parents of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan, criticized by a Deadspin reporter for blackface, are considering to sue the publisher for defamation, Daily Mail reported.
Parents of 9-year-old Chiefs fan sue Deadspin, accuse reporter of labeling their son as ‘racially insensitive’
The parents accused the reporter, Carron J. Phillips, of labeling their son, Holden, as racially insensitive for donning the attire during a game against the Las Vegas Raiders on November 26.
Additionally, Phillips asserted that the child “found a way to hate black people” by painting half of his face jet black in support of his team. “It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once,” Phillips wrote. His article was widely shared across the internet, reaching a global audience.
Shannon and Raul Armenta, parents of Holden Armenta, have hired Clare Locke LLP, according to the NY Post. They are formally requesting the sports news site and senior writer Carron Phillips to issue a retraction for the story. The headline read “The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress.”
In a letter obtained by NewsNation, the parents additionally issued a warning, indicating the possibility of further legal action against the publisher G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners.
Clare Locke LLP calls for immediate action on controversial Deadspin article
Clare Locke LLP specializes in defamation cases. It’s the same firm that assisted Dominion Voting in securing a $787 million settlement against Fox News. They highlighted the influence of media shared by the news site that promoted the controversial piece.
“These articles, posts on X and photos about Holden and his parents must be retracted immediately,” the letter read.
“It is not enough to quietly remove a tweet from X or disable the article from Deadspin’s website. You must publish your retractions and issue an apology to my clients with the same prominence and fanfare with which you defamed them.”
Shannon shared multiple images showcasing her son’s warm reception at the game. She said that Deadspin chose to highlight a photo that concealed the fact that half of her son’s face was painted red.
