GEORGETOWN, Del. (TND) — The parents of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan are suing sports blog Deadspin for allegedly “maliciously” criticizing their son for his face paint and traditional Native American headdress.
Raul Armenta, Jr. and his wife, Shannon, allege Deadspin willfully spread “incendiary” lies about their child, identified as H.A. in the lawsuit obtained by Reasn.com, to fuel its "race-drenched" political agenda.
“Deadspin has gone too far. H.A. should not have to live with his face being plastered on social media alongside false and defamatory accusations of racist conduct,” Raul and Shannon argue. “His parents should not be forced to live with the false and defamatory allegation that they are teaching ‘hate in the home.’”
The parents claim the sports blog used a selectively captured photo of H.A., showing the child at an angle displaying the black side of his red-and-black painted face, to accompany a November article accusing him of finding a way to express hatred for Black people and Native Americans at the same time.
The piece was titled “The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress" and was authored by Carron J. Phillips.
“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,” the lawsuit alleges.Raul and Shannon say Phillips’s article was entirely false, refuting allegations H.A. wore "blackface."
READ MORE | Mother of Chiefs fan in headdress blasts sports blog over racism accusations: 'Just stop'
“Before this controversy, nine-year-old H.A. had no idea what blackface was or the racist history behind it,” the parents note. “He is a child, and until Deadspin and Phillips’s malicious accusation, it never occurred to nine-year-old H.A. that a person could hate another for the color of their skin.”
Raul and Shannon also rejected accusations they taught H.A. to hate Native Americans, citing the family’s paternal indigenous lineage.
“Throughout his childhood, H.A.’s parents have taught H.A. and his siblings the proud heritage, culture and traditions of their tribe—and they celebrate that culture and history proudly,” the lawsuit reads. “H.A. did not wear a costume headdress because he was 'taught hate at home' — he wore it because he loves the Kansas City Chiefs’ football team and because he loves his Native American heritage."
The parents allege Deadspin and Phillips neglected to mitigate damage once their family received backlash and instead opted to republish the article with a “misleading” update that “doubled down” and further defamed the Armenta family.
“It maintained all of the defamatory falsehoods with full knowledge — and ample evidence — of their falsehood,” Raul and Shannon argue, alleging their family has received death threats and insults to H.A.READ MORE | Elon Musk rips sports blog for claiming Chiefs fan wore blackface to football game: 'Deception'
Deadspin updated the article in December to remove any photos, tweets, links or other identifying information about H.A. and changed its headline.
“Unfortunately the article drew attention to the fan, though our intended focus was on the NFL and its checkered history on race,” an editor’s note states. “We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family.”
Deadspin did not immediately return The National Desk’s request for comment Wednesday.
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