A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against sports website Deadspin over an article accusing a 9-year-old NFL fan and his family of racism because of his game-day attire.
The lawsuit was filed by California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife, Shannon, on behalf of them and their son, Holden, who attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders last November.
According to the lawsuit, Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “HA,” is a Chiefs fan who also loves his family’s Chumash-Indian heritage. He wore a Chiefs jersey to the game, with his face painted half red and half black, and an American Indian costume.
Holden had the opportunity to pose with Raiders fans and also appeared briefly during the telecast of the game, his red and black face paint visible. An Associated Press photographer also captured an image of Holden showing both sides of the boy’s painted face.
However, using a screenshot that only showed the side of Holden’s face painted black, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips published an article the next day accusing the boy of being racist.
“NFL must speak out against Kansas City Chiefs fan in blackface, local head,” reads the article’s headline. “They’re doubling down on racism,” reads one caption. “Are you going to say something, Roger Goodell?” – a reference to the NFL commissioner.
In the article, Phillips wrote that the boy had “found a way to hate blacks and Native Americans at the same time.” He suggested the boy had been taught “hate” by his parents.
Deadspin posted the article on X, generating more than 18,000 comments and a “community note” clarifying its falsity. Phillips, described in Armenta’s lawsuit as “someone who makes his living through wild race baiting,” however, doubled down.
“For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as a harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could argue that makes it even worse,” Phillips wrote on X. “You’re all those who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”
According to the lawsuit, the Armentas began receiving hate mail and death threats, with one person threatening to kill Holden “with a piece of wood.” The Armentas say they made repeated demands that Deadspin retract the article and apologize.
In response, Deadspin republished a redacted version that maintained the accusations of racism and continued to feature Holden’s photo. Deadspin later updated the article again, removing Holden’s photo and changing the headline to read, “NFL Must Ban Native Color and Culturally Insensitive Faces in Stands.”
“We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family,” the article said.
Dissatisfied with Deadspin’s updates instead of a formal apology and retraction, Armentas sued for defamation.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg denied Deadspin’s request to dismiss Armenta’s lawsuit, rejecting arguments that the article was opinion and thus protected from libel liability.
“Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for his criticism of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in depicting the child, crossed the line by shielding his speech from defamation claims,” it wrote the judge.
“After reviewing the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing HA of wearing blackface and the headscarf ‘to hate blacks and Native Americans at the same time’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents his, they are fake. statements of fact and are therefore enforceable,” Lugg added.
Lugg also declined to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, rather than Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. A month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing and the entire staff was laid off.
“Deadspin and Carron Phillips have never shown an iota of remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as their political football,” Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for Armentas, said in an email. “The Armenta family looks forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”
A spokesman for G/O Media said in an email that the company had no comment.
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