In November of last year, an article was published by Deadspin that falsely accused a young fan of the Kansas City Chiefs of wearing blackface during an NFL game. The author, Carron J. Phillips, only showed a partial image of the child’s face painted black, neglecting to include the full picture which revealed that the child was actually wearing black and red face paint in support of the Chiefs. The parents of the child, Raul and Shannon Armenta, have now filed a lawsuit against Deadspin and its parent company, G/O Media, for intentionally attacking their son. The lawsuit claims that the accusations made in the article have caused significant harm to the family, including death threats, insults, and damage to the child’s emotional well-being. The family believes that the article was published with a racially-charged agenda, as Deadspin and Phillips were aware that the child was not wearing blackface but chose to write the article in order to generate attention. The evidence suggests that Deadspin knowingly lied in their reporting and allowed the false accusations to remain online for 11 days before making any corrections. The outlet only took action after the family threatened legal action. The editor’s note added to the article claimed that the focus was on the NFL and not the fan, but this contradicts the first paragraph of the article which targeted the child directly. The lawsuit also alleges that Deadspin threatened to counter-sue the Armenta family if they attempted to hold them accountable for their false and defamatory article. Deadspin has yet to retract the article or issue an apology. The full details of the lawsuit can be found here.
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