A nine-year-old Kansas City Chiefs' fan accused of racism for face paint and regalia has gained support from fellow fans and a Fox News host.Holden Armenta wore black and red on his face, along with the regalia of a chief in Las Vegas as the hometown Raiders faced Armenta's beloved Chiefs. In Deadspin, Carron J. Phillips accused him of racism.“It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time,” wrote Phillips.“Why did the camera person give this fan the attention?“Why did the producer allow that camera angle to be aired at all?”Phillips said the NFL could not “stop racism and hate from being taught in the home” but if the league had forced the Chiefs to change their name none of this would have happened.“There’s no place for a franchise to be called the ‘Chiefs’ in a league that’s already eradicated ‘Redskin,’” Phillips wrote.“This is what happens when you ban books, stand against Critical Race Theory and try to erase centuries of hate. You give future generations the ammunition they need to evolve and recreate racism better than before.”On the Primetime show, Fox News host Jesse Watters called the accusations “ridiculous.” As proof, he displayed a picture of Phillips wearing black and red face paint on a separate occasion.“Holden can wear whatever he wants and Americans can wear whatever we want. We agree and Kansas City agrees too. It's why the Chiefs' fans are planning to wear black and red face paint to the next game to show support for Holden, who’s not only a proud Kansas City Chiefs fan, he's a proud Chumash Indian.”Holden’s father Bubba Armenta told Watters that the fame his boy received went from exciting to devastating.“He's excited. He's all over. It's was his dream to get on the Jumbotron. And I've had family and friends call and [say], ‘Oh, we saw you on Sunday night football.’ So he's excited. But then everything else came up and it's been a little bit of a spiral,” Amenta said.“It's been a lot. It's been a pretty crazy couple of days. I was mad upset, upset for him, mad that he's upset. He's pretty devastated.”The young fan, who says Patrick Mahomes is his favourite player, said the attention has him nervous.“It's okay, because a lot of kids at school are getting excited. But it's starting to get me a little nervous because if they go a little bit overboard, it's a little scary," the boy said.The nine-year-old plays wide receiver and free safety on his own football team. When Watters asked if he would keep wearing his face paint, he said, “Yep. Forever.” He said it felt “really good” that fellow Chiefs' fans would do the same on Sunday when they host the Green Bay Packers.Watters asked Holden’s father if Deadspin’s author and publication should apologize.“I don't even know what to think about that. It's kind of it's a little 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'd never in any way, shape or form meant to disrespect any native Americans or any tribes,” Bubba Armenta said.“The tribe we're from doesn't even wear that type of headdress….it's a costume piece. That's exactly what we purchased it for, and wore it for not in any disrespect towards any native Americans at all."“It’s been a whirlwind of comments coming, even from other tribes, from tribal members. Some think it's okay; some think it's not okay. That's a nine-year-old boy supporting his team.”Deadspin offered no apology, but did update their article with a statement from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians the Amentas are affiliated with:“We are aware that a young member of our community attended a Kansas City Chiefs game in a headdress and face paint in his way of supporting his favorite team. Please keep in mind that the decisions made by individuals or families in our community are their own and may not reflect the views of the broader tribal community." "As a federally recognized tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians does not endorse wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other type of cultural appropriation.”
