 A young Kansas City Chiefs fan is being accused by some of being racist against Black and Native Americans for painting his face black and red while wearing a native headdress to a football game.
Holden Armenta’s mother, however, revealed on Facebook over night that her son is, in fact, Native American, as is his grandfather, who is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The youngster was photographed on Sunday during the Chiefs vs. Raiders game in Las Vegas. Armenta performed the “tomahawk chop” in front of tens of thousands of adoring spectators, and the performance was broadcast on national television. On the field, a few Chiefs players were even making the gesture.
However, senior writer at Deadspin Carron J. Phillips wrote a harsh piece about the boy’s “racist” and “disrespectful” acts after the photo of him appeared.
Disrespecting two groups of people simultaneously is a big ask. However, Phillips reported that on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan managed to harbor hate for both Native Americans and Black people.
“Who taught that person that what they were wearing was appropriate, despite their age?” he asked.
The NFL was also criticized by Phillips for “relentlessly participating in prejudice.”
The Washington Redskins, who were founded in 1933, were renamed the Washington Commanders by the NFL in 2020.
After the death of George Floyd in 2020, the NFL also promoted messages of equality and racial justice, yet Phillips said no one from the NFL is calling what the young boy did wrong.
But Phillips has also come under fire for accusing the young man of racism.
Some claim that Phillips purposefully only included the black portion of the boy’s painted face in his photo that he uploaded online in order to elicit a strong reaction from the public.
The billionaire founder of X, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk, criticized Phillips for being dishonest.
“Do you really want to ruin this little child’s life because he’s wearing the jersey of his favorite team? Another X user commented, “You should be ashamed of yourselves for such a humiliating take.”
However, Phillips continues to stand by his account of the child and his parents’ choice to let him dress like that.
