(RepublicanReport.org) – A recent news article featured a nine-year-old boy who attended a Kansas City Chiefs game wearing a headdress and face paint, calling the child racist. The media outlet apparently got it all wrong, and social justice warriors are calling out the publication for jumping on assumptions. Turns out the kid was celebrating his tribal heritage.
Deadspin captured a photo of the boy, Holden Armenta, attending the Chiefs’ November 26 match against the Raiders in Las Vegas, Nevada. The image only showed half of the child’s face — the side painted black, which the publication attempted to pass off as full blackface. The other side of Armenta’s face was painted red.
The nine-year-old also wore a beaded and feathered headdress. Deadspin lambasted the wardrobe choice as an insulting example of cultural appropriation and accused the boy of expressing hate toward black and Native American ethnic groups all in one fell swoop.
Deadspin portrayed the depiction as par for the course for National Football League (NFL) activities and pointed to its apparent racist history. It also criticized the NFL for allowing a name like “Chiefs” to continue on while “Redskins” got the racist boot.
Real Kansas City Chiefs Fans shared a message about the claims on Facebook. It notes that Armenta’s family has ties to the Chumash tribe, adding that the boy’s grandfather is a member of the tribal board in Santa Ynez, California.
The article’s writer, Carron J. Phillips, defended his stance on X, the social media outlet formerly known as Twitter, on November 30. He shared a post from reporter A. J. Perez, which gives a statement from the chairman of the Santa Ynez Chumash Indians, Kenneth Kahn. It specifies that the tribal group doesn’t endorse any example of cultural appropriation, which includes “wearing regalia” or other ethnic costume accessories.
Additionally, the Chief’s official colors are red and gold, not red and black.
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