A young Kansas City Chiefs fan accused of ‘blackface’ has described the reaction to the claims as ‘scary’ after a reporter branded his face paint ‘racist’, despite being a Native American himself.
Holden Armenta and his father, Bubba, were interviewed on Wednesday to respond to Deadspin reporter Carron J. Phillips’ allegations that the nine-year-old was driving hate to both ‘black people and Native Americans at the same time.’
Phillips, a Pulitzer nominee, initially shared a photo of the young boy with only half of his face painted in black before more pictures surfaced that showed Holden wearing half red and half black paint on his face, on social media.
‘Holden, how are you feeling, right now?’ asked Fox News’ Jesse Watters.
‘It’s OK because a lot of kids at school are getting excited but its starting to get me a little nervous, because if they go a little bit overboard, it’s a little scary,’ said Holden.
Only describing ‘the community’s support’ as ‘OK’, since Carron’s article about him was published two days ago, the minor said it was ‘really good’ to feel the love from ‘Chiefs nation’ on Sunday, as they plan to wear red and black paint on their face as a sign of support to the young boy.
Bubba, the boy’s father, told Watters that his son asked him if he could paint his face before featuring on live television, as a sign of defiance.
‘I mean he can do whatever he wants,’ replied the Fox News commentator. ‘He’s a great patriot, he’s a great American and he’s a great fan and everybody loves Holden, but Carron at Deadspin doesn’t.’
Asked if he would like an apology from the reporter, Bubba, the boy’s dad said: ‘You know, I don’t even know what to think about that. It’s a little bit too late for that.
‘The damage is already done. It’s worldwide… now there’s comments all over, there’s disrespect towards Native Americans and towards my family. We never in any way shape or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes.’
While explaining the family is part of the Chumash tribe, hailing from California, and that they used to live on a reservation, the boy’s father added that ‘the tribe we’re from doesn’t even wear that type of headdress,’ referring to his son’s headpiece worn at Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs defeated arch rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, on Sunday.
‘This specific headdress is a novelty piece. It’s a costume piece,’ further said Bubba. ‘That’s exactly what we had purchased it for and wore it for — not in any disrespect towards any Native Americans at all.’
Phillips has stood his ground since making the ‘blackface’ allegations, and has even doubled down on them by claiming that he could argue that red paint on Holden’s face ‘makes it even worse.’
In a now-deleted tweet, the reporter – a senior writer for Deadspin, a national sports blog – wrote: ‘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. Ya’ll are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on cinco.’
Bubba, Holden’s dad, said that his son was ‘upset’ and ‘pretty devastated’ when he first learned of Phillips’ blackface claims.
‘It’s been a whirlwind of comments coming even from other tribes, from tribal members. Some think it’s OK. Some think it’s not OK. It’s a 9-year-old boy supporting his team,’ he added.
The Chiefs have not commented on the matter. They will travel to Wisconsin to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Their next home game is on December 10, where many are expected to show support for Holden and his family, by having their faces painted in red and black – two of the team’s colors.
