Media

Conservatives Blast ESPN Pundit For Targeting Young Chiefs Superfan Accused Of Being Racist

Miami Dolphins v Kansas City Chiefs

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
Font Size:

Conservatives blasted ESPN pundit Kevin Blackistone on social media Friday for targeting the young boy falsely accused of racism for wearing a headdress and face paint to a Kansas City Chiefs game.

Blackistone said he reached out to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, a tribe the nine-year-old boy’s grandfather is a business committee member of. The tribe reportedly told him they do “not endorse wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation.”

To be clear about this Kansas City @NFL team child fan’s get-up, and his parents excusing it by saying his grandfather is a Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indian, I asked the tribe (which is what journalists, not @FoxNews, do) and this is the tribe’s response:,” Blackistone wrote on Twitter, including the tribe’s statement below. 

The young boy, Holden Armenta, became the center of controversy earlier this week after Deadspin senior writer Carron Phillips accused him of racism for wearing a headdress and black paint on one side of his face. He included a misleading photo angled to only show the black paint, while a full photo of the child shows the other side painted in red. (RELATED: The Deadspin Writer Trying To Ruin A Child’s Life Is Even Crazier Than You Thought) 

The headdress is an iconic team symbol based on the old logo from the 1960s and ’70s, and the teams’ colors are red and black.

Conservatives immediately criticized Blackistone for appearing to side with Deadspin.

“Why are y’all so obsessed with what a CHILD is wearing? Creepy,” Team DeSantis rapid response director Christina Pushaw said.

“This is America. We have freedoms. The kid can dress however he wants,” Washington Examiner columnist Christopher Tremoglie said. “This first was a story about a kid wearing black face but now that that blew up, you left wingers have pivoted to the headwear. And this is all being done because the kid is white. The kid is fine. He can wear whatever he wants. If anyone is offended, too bad. Life’s tough, get a helmet.”

“You could try getting a life instead of trying to ruin the life of a literal child,” Rebel News’ Ian Miles Cheong said.

“I don’t think you appreciate the level of hatred and contempt the average person feels towards you. But it’s not enough,” author Michael Malice said.

Deadspin updated Phillips’ piece Thursday morning to emphasize the tribe’s disapproval of wearing headdresses as part of a costume. While saying it is aware the boy wore the attire to cheer on the team, the outlet did not include a full photograph of the child or make any other statement regarding the matter.

Phillips has yet to retract his racism accusations against the boy, and even doubled down on the blackface remarks which were later deleted from Twitter.

“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 it makes it even worse,” Phillips wrote in his now-deleted tweet.

Julie DiCaro, a fellow writer at Deadspin, defended Phillips by claiming the boy’s appearance was indeed racist.