The young Kansas City Chiefs fan who was famously photographed in face paint and a headdress made it to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Holden Armenta, 9, was seen inside Allegiant Stadium, complete with his headdress. His face was also painted, this time without any black coloring, but red, white, and yellow instead. Armenta was also seemingly accompanied by a Native American Guardian representative. A man with braids was photographed behind him.
Earlier this season, Deadspin published an opinion editorial slamming the Chiefs for allowing its fans to wear Native American headdresses and paint their faces black despite attempting to ban the practice three years ago. The header photo was a profile shot of Armenta sitting in the stands in a headdress, with the side of his face that was painted black showing. At the time, Armenta had painted half of his face black and the other half red.
His parents threatened legal action against Deadspin before an editor’s note was added. Last week, the family filed a lawsuit against the media outlet.
The lawsuit claimed that not only is Armenta a private person thrust into the limelight, but his mother said he is of Native American descent. His grandfather is reportedly on the board of the Chumash tribe in Santa Ynez, California.
A subsequent fundraiser began on Armenta’s behalf to finance his attendance at the Super Bowl, a game notorious for selling tickets for tens of thousands of dollars. This effort raised over $11,000 by Sunday and was meant for Armenta’s travel, tickets, and memorabilia.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Armenta predicted the Chiefs would beat the San Fransisco 49ers 31-28.
The Kansas City Chiefs got its name from H. Roe Bartle, the mayor of Kansas City from 1955 to 1963. Bartle was not of Native American descent, but the team took his nickname of “Chief.”
