(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The change in ownership at sports blog site Deadspin resulted in the termination of all its staff members, including a writer who falsely accused a young child of wearing blackface and disrespecting Native Americans, reported the New York Post on Monday.
The news of the sale and subsequent mass firing came just months after Deadspin was forced to apologize for publishing a dubious news article that targeted young Kansas City Chiefs fan, Holden Armenta.
The now-edited article, published by Carron Phillips on Nov. 27, accused the boy of being racially insensitive, pointing to a partial photo featuring the young boy with a black and red-painted face and wearing a Native American headdress.
However, it was later revealed that Armenta himself was of Native American descent, prompting his father to take legal action against the company.
DEADSPIN is a fake news media company that falsely accused a 9 year old boy of wearing blackface at a Chiefs game.
In response, the boy’s family is now suing them to hell for defamation.
Today, Deadspin was forced to lay off their entire staff and sell the company.
Fake News… pic.twitter.com/p2NUUuUomr
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 11, 2024
The child’s family initiated a defamation lawsuit against the company without disclosing the specific damages sought.
“Journalism — and the country as a whole — is better today now that Carron Phillips no longer has a platform to target innocent kids with his agenda-driven writing,” said Libby Locke, an attorney for the family.
BREAKING: The parents of the defamed 9-year-old Chiefs fan are suing Deadspin.
Deadspin smeared Holden Armenta (9) and falsely accused him of blackface & racism, leaving out the half of his face painted red (Chiefs colors). His grandfather is a Native American tribesman.
The… pic.twitter.com/KZUcFoIJoF
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 7, 2024
Deadspin’s parent company, G/O Media, announced widespread layoffs following the sale of the news outlet to Lineup Publishing.
According to G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller, the new owners decided against retaining “any of the site’s existing staff and instead build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand.”
In a memo to its 11 staff members, Spanfeller wrote: “While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadpin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage.”
Phillips’s blog against the child bore the disturbing headline: “The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native Headdress.”
But despite Phillips’s assertions, Raul Armenta, the child’s grandfather, was subsequently revealed to be a board member of the California-based Chumas Tribe in Santa Ynez.
EXCLUSIVE: The 9-year-old Chiefs fan, who was falsely smeared as a racist for supporting his team, speaks out on Primetime.
Holden Armenta says this whole thing has been scary and overwhelming. His father, Bubba, says it’s too late for an apology- the damage is already done. pic.twitter.com/8T4WsMsvm6
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) November 30, 2023
Deadspin has since edited the article, claiming that the original intent was to criticize the NFL rather than the child.
“Unfortunately the article drew attention to the fan, though our intended focus was on the NFL and its checkered history on race, an issue which our writer has covered extensively for Deadspin,” an editor’s note reads. “The story’s intended focus was the NFL and its failure to extend those rules to the entire leagues.”
