DOVER, Del. (AP) — 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 themselves 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 “H.A.”, 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 a costume Native American headdress. Holden got the opportunity to pose with Raiders cheerleaders and was also shown briefly during the television broadcast of the game, with 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 showed only the side of Holden’s face painted black, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips published an article the next day accusing the boy of being racist.
“The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress,” the headline on the article reads. “They’re doubling up on the racism,” a subhead reads. “Are you going to say anything, Roger Goodell?” — a reference to the NFL commissioner.
In the article, Phillips wrote that the boy had “found a way to hate black people and the Native American at the same time.” He suggested that the boy had been taught “hatred” 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 the Armentas’ lawsuit as “someone who makes his livelihood through vicious race-baiting,” nevertheless doubled down.
“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 that it makes it even worse,” Phillips wrote on X. “Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”
The Armentas started receiving hateful messages and death threats, with one person threatening to kill Holden “with a wood chipper,” according to the lawsuit. The Armentas say they made repeated demands for 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 picture. Deadspin later updated the article again, removing Holden’s picture and changing the headline to read, “The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands.”
“We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family,” the article reads.
Unsatisfied with Deadspin’s updates instead of a formal apology and retraction, the Armentas sued for defamation.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg denied Deadspin’s motion to dismiss the Armentas’ lawsuit, rejecting arguments that the article was opinion and thus protected from liability for defamation.
“Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” the judge wrote.
“Having reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing H.A. of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg added.
Lugg also refused to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, instead of Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. One 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 a morsel of remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as their political football,” Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the Armentas, said in an email. “The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”
A spokesperson for G/O Media said in an email that the company had no comment.