A lawsuit against Deadspin will proceed after a judge found that the news outlet could be liable for defamation against a 9-year-old boy accused of racism over his Kansas City Chiefs costume.
In Nov. 2023, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips scolded a child for appearing at a game between the Raiders and the Chiefs with a Native American headdress and face paint. Phillips faced immediate online backlash after some realized that he had used a photo of only one side of the child’s face to make it appear as if it was blackface.
‘In its description of the child, [Deadspin] crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims.’
The family of the boy demanded that the publication retract the article and said that they had received furious vitriol, including some death threats. In their defense, the family pointed out their Chumash tribe lineage. When Deadspin merely edited the article and neglected to formally apologize, the family decided to file a lawsuit.
The publication argued in court that it was not liable for defamation because the article was based on opinion, but Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg disagreed and ruled that the lawsuit could proceed.
“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,” Lugg wrote.
He went to cite specific claims in the article that the child was taught to hate by his parents and that he wore the paint to insult Native Americans and blacks as “provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable.”
Since the original article published, Deadspin was sold 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,” read an email statement from Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the family. “The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”
The boy would not be allowed to wear his costume at the Kansas City Chiefs stadium because the organization has banned headdresses since 2020.
In February, he attended the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in his headdress and face paint but not with one side painted black.
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