EXCLUSIVE — A fundraiser for the young Kansas City Chiefs fan falsely accused of racism last year has been launched with the intent of sending him to this year’s Super Bowl.
Holden Armenta, the 9-year-old Chiefs fan, was falsely accused of blackface and cultural appropriation for wearing a Native American headdress, even though Armenta is of Native American descent and was wearing red-and-black face paint to support the Chiefs.
Now, a group led by Eddie Smith, host of the Patriots Prayer podcast, and Maurice, better known as The Native Patriot and the co-host of the Skin in the Game podcast with Anthony Chavez, wants to send Armenta to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday as a way to give him something to smile about after the public outcry on social media.
“Just the demonization that that kid went through and that family went through. I wanted to turn something dark into something light for them, so that way he can go back out there and basically get a second shot,” Maurice told the Washington Examiner. “And this time, he’s celebrated instead of demonized.”
Smith agreed, adding that he wants Armenta to look back and remember that while he may have been falsely smeared online, he was able to go to the Super Bowl. The two hosts said they have informed the Armenta family of the fundraiser and that they are in great support of it.
The financial goal of this fundraiser, launched on GiveSendGo, is set at $22,000. As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser has raised almost $6,700.
In the chance this fundraiser does not meet its financial goal, the two hosts told the Washington Examiner that they plan to use the money to buy Armenta signed sports jerseys of Kansas City Chiefs icons Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, which will be presented to Armenta at a Super Bowl watch party held close to the big game. Smith and Maurice said they are “very Christian” and want to make sure they are “good stewards” of the money given to this fundraiser.
The fundraiser has also caught the attention of Shawn Farash, a podcast host who is best known for his impersonation of former President Donald Trump on social media. Farash appeared on the Skin in the Game podcast on Sunday and will promote the fundraiser on his podcast on Monday.
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“Donate to the GiveSendGo,” Farash said in his Trump impersonation. “You give, they send Holden to the Super Bowl, and the rest of the fake news goes crazy.”
In the wake of sports outlet Deadspin accusing Armenta of racism, Armenta’s parents, Bubba and Shannon Armenta, hired Clare Locke to demand a retraction of the story and threatened additional legal action against the story’s author, Deadspin, and the outlet’s parent companies, G/O Media and Great Hill Partners. Deadspin’s accusation against Armenta also caught the attention of media personality Joe Rogan, who greatly criticized the original story put out by the sports outlet.
