The article did not mention that the undisclosed half of the child’s face was painted red, representing the team’s colors. When additional photos were shown Phillips, doubled-down on the racism accusations in a since-deleted post on X.
Phillips wrote, “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. Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”
The boy wore a Native American headdress, banned by the NFL team since September 2020.
Cultural Appropriation or Celebrating Heritage?
The child, identified as Holden Armenta, has Native American heritage, with his grandfather serving on the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Raul Armenta is listed on the tribe’s website as a “business committee member” elected to the board in 2016.
“He looks forward to continuing the legacy of building a solid economic foundation for future generations of the Chumash tribe,” it reads.
