A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against sports website Deadspin over an article that accused a 9-year-old NFL fan and his family of racial discrimination because of their game-day attire.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife Shannon, who attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders last November, on behalf of themselves and their son Holden. It is something.
Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “HA,” is a Chiefs fan and also loves his family's Chumash Indian heritage, according to the complaint. He attended the game wearing a Chiefs jersey, half his face painted red and half black, and a Native American headdress.
Holden had the opportunity to pose with Raiders cheerleaders and was briefly shown during the game's television broadcast, sporting red and black face paint. An Associated Press photographer also captured an image of Holden showing both sides of the boy's face painted.
But the next day, Deadspin writer Caron Phillips published an article accusing the boy of being racist, using a screenshot showing only the sides of Holden's face painted black.
The article's headline reads, “The NFL needs to speak out against Kansas City Chiefs fans who wear blackface and Native headdresses.” The subheading reads, “They're doubling down on racism.” “Do you want to say something, Roger Goodell?” — a reference to the NFL commissioner.
Phillips wrote in the article that the boy “found a way to hate Black people and Native Americans at the same time.” He suggested that the boy may have been instilled with “hatred” by his parents.
Deadspin posted the article on X, generating over 18,000 comments and a “community note” debunking it. Still, Phillips, described in the Armentas family's lawsuit as “someone who makes a living off of vicious racism,” has become even more determined.
“To the idiots who treat this as a harmless act just because the other side of his face was painted red in my mention, I would argue that it makes things even worse. ,” Phillips wrote of X. I hate Mexicans, but they wear sombreros on Cinco. ”
The Armentas began receiving hateful messages and death threats, with one person threatening to kill Holden “with a wood chipper,” according to the complaint. The Armentas couple said they have repeatedly asked Deadspin to retract the article and apologize.
In response, Deadspin instead republished an edited version that retained the accusations of racism and continued to display Holden's photo. Deadspin then updated the story again, removing Holden's photo and changing the headline to “NFL must ban Native headdresses and culturally insensitive face paint in the stands.”
The article states, “We regret that it has been pointed out that this is an attack on fans and their families.''
Dissatisfied with Deadspin's update rather than a formal apology and retraction, the Armentas filed a defamation lawsuit.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Rugg rejected Deadspin's motion to dismiss Armentas' lawsuit, rejecting the article's argument that it was an opinion and protected from liability for defamation.
“Deadspin publishes an image of a child who appears to be a die-hard fan in the context of criticizing the NFL's diversity efforts, and the depiction of the child protects the speech from defamation claims.” “There was a fine line to walk,” the judge wrote.
“After considering the complaint, the court found that HA wears blackface and an Indigenous headdress 'to hate Black people and Indigenous people at the same time,' and that Deadspin's statement accuses her of having this hatred instilled in her by her parents. “are assertions of fact that can be proven to be false and are therefore litigious,'' Rugg added.
Wragg also based Deadspin's argument that the lawsuit should have been filed in California, where the Armentas family resides, rather than in Delaware, where Deadspin's former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. It also declined to dismiss the lawsuit. A month after Mr. Armentas filed his lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing, and the entire staff was fired.
“Deadspin and Caron Phillips have shown no remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as a political football,” Armentas' attorney Elizabeth Locke said in an email. “The Armenta family looks forward to taking depositions and presenting this matter to the jury at trial.”
A G/O Media spokesperson said in an email that the company would not comment.
