After several woke sports writers dutifully lined up to accuse a nine-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing “black face” at last weekend’s game, one of those writers is now admitting that he judged too early and is now saying he is an “idiot” for not waiting for the facts to emerge.
Jack McGuire of Barstool Sports posted a video to TikTok admitting that he bungled the story of little Holden Armenta, who was seen in the stands in Las Vegas during the Raiders-Chiefs game wearing a Travis Kelce jersey, a feathered Indian headdress, and with his face painted in team colors, half black and half red.
“I am an idiot,” McGuire admitted in his video.
“On Sunday, I took this photo” — the controversial one in question — “and said that he was wearing blackface and a headdress,” McGuire told his followers.
“What I did not do is let more things come out about that photo,” he added, noting, “the other side of his face was red” and “as for the headdress, it has come out that he is Native American.”
“His grandfather is part of the Chumash tribe … I have since taken down this TikTok,” McGuire said he learned.
“And the apology should be as loud as the accusation,” the sportswriter said. “So here is my TikTok saying I am sorry and also I am an idiot.”
NEW: Barstool Sports' Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) has released an apology for jumping to conclusions with the young Chiefs fan for wearing face paint.
Good man. Now why is @carronJphillips still refusing to do the same?
In his apology video, McGuire apologized to the fan, Holden… pic.twitter.com/0YMzYyc5TW
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 29, 2023
Many left-wing sports writers, such as senior Deadspin writer Carron Phillips, blasted the boy as a “racist” for wearing “black face” at the game.
To prove their accusation, these “news” outlets consistently showed a photo of young Holden in a profile view showing only the right side of his face, which was painted black. Most neglected to show a frontal view, which would have revealed to readers that the other half of the boy’s face was painted red.
Why is @Deadspin @carronJphillips trying to ruin this little kid’s life? They’re accusing him of blackface but conveniently left out his full face which was painted for the game https://t.co/kFfgAL4aDH pic.twitter.com/750u5sfETE
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 28, 2023
After the media attacked her son, Holden’s mother, Shannon Armenta, slapped back, informing the media that the boy was not in “black face,” that he was dressed in Chiefs team colors and that he is not a “racist” against Native Americans because he has Native heritage in his family.
It was also learned that Holden’s grandfather is an official in the Chumash Tribe in Santa Ynez, California. Raul Armenta is an elected official and sits on the Chumash tribal board.
While few of the woke writers have offered an apology for their false, kneejerk reaction to the boy’s expression of fandom, Jack McGuire deserves kudos for issuing a real apology for his initial and incorrect take on the story.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
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