After several media outlets walked back their reporting on Covington Catholic high school students' interaction with a Native American man during the March for Life, a New York publication attempted to smear the students by accusing them of wearing blackface.

The New York Daily News published an article on Monday that included a photo "said to be featuring Covington Catholic High School students clad in blackface during a 2015 basketball game." They included a tweet from Marcus Henry Weber, a "Cannabis industry, film production professional, citizen journalist" who said the students in blackface were verbally abusing the black players on the opposing team.

They went on to report that the "photo’s origins couldn't be verified," but later added that the "official Covington Catholic High School YouTube account published a video last January boasting its basketball school spirit, and several clips, including one from 2012, showcase attendees chanting in black face."

Covington Catholic alum Ryan Toler pushed back on the characterization from the Daily News, saying he was shown in the background of one of the images in the article. He added, "ITS CALLED A BLACKOUT THEME. WE HAD SCHOOL SPIRIT. WE DO THIS TO EVERY SCHOOL NO MATTER THE RACE OR ETHNICITY. Stop trying to force a fake story to drive your false narrative."

Lmaoooo. I was at this game SEVEN YEARS AGO. SEVEN! I’m shown in the background of this image. ITS CALLED A BLACKOUT THEME. WE HAD SCHOOL SPIRIT. WE DO THIS TO EVERY SCHOOL NO MATTER THE RACE OR ETHNICITY. Stop trying to force a fake story to drive your false narrative. https://t.co/9CRZZFxpeW — Ryan Toler (@ryantoler_) January 22, 2019

"The black body paint is part of a ‘blackout' game, in which students paint themselves in the school's colors," the Daily News said. "This isn't an uncommon practice, but it is one that has become increasingly frowned upon as minority groups have spoken up about the obvious racist connotations."

The narrative from the Daily News follows the media backtracking on its initial narrative that the Catholic high school students were surrounding the Native American elder, Nathan Phillips, with a "mob mentality." It was initially reported that they were racists for chanting, "Build the wall," the Washington Free Beacon reported.