The story about the young Chiefs fan who was called out by a Deadspin reporter has gotten even better. As Spencer reported, the writer’s story was hit was a Community Note, pointing out that the child was not sporting blackface along with his headdress, as was misrepresented in the photo accompanying the piece. Instead, his face was painted half-black and half-red to support the Kansas City Chiefs. And criticism about cultural appropriation over the headdress?
The boy’s father, Bubba Armenta, told Fox News’s Jesse Watters that it’s a “novelty piece.”
“It's a costume piece," he added. "That's exactly what we had purchased it for and wore it for—not in any disrespect towards any Native Americans at all."
In fact, the family is part of the Chumash tribe and used to live on a reservation, Fox News reports, and his grandfather serves as a tribal council member for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. The boy's mother pointed this out in her criticism of the story.
"This has nothing to do with the NFL. Also, CBS showed him multiple times and this is the photo people chose to blast to create division. He is Native American - just stop already," she wrote on Facebook, responding to the Deadspin report.
Bubba Armenta emphasized during his interview with Watters that their son meant no disrespect with his getup.
"We never in any way, shape or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes. The tribe we're from doesn't even wear that type of headdress.”
But it’s “too late” for an apology, he said, because the “damage is already done.”
"It's, you know, worldwide. Now, there's comments all over. There's, you know, disrespect towards Native Americans and towards my family," Armenta added.
The child, Holden, told Watters the response he’s gotten has made him “a little nervous," and understandably so. But many Chiefs fans plan to wear black and red face paint at the next game to support the 9-year-old.
EXCLUSIVE: The 9-year-old Chiefs fan, who was falsely smeared as a racist for supporting his team, speaks out on Primetime.
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) November 30, 2023
Holden Armenta says this whole thing has been scary and overwhelming. His father, Bubba, says it's too late for an apology- the damage is already done. pic.twitter.com/8T4WsMsvm6
