10
Loading video...
By Marni Rose McFall
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Police were called to a youth soccer game in Florida this past weekend to remove the family of a 3-year-old boy.
An organizer for the nationwide youth sports organization i9 Sports said that the child had been pushing other players and was "very advanced," compared with the other children.
Body camera footage shows the parents of the child, named Nevada, telling law enforcement that the boy was asked to leave the field because he is too good at soccer.
Read More on News
Nevada’s parents later identified themselves online as Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, and posted multiple videos on social media of their son playing soccer.
...
In one viral video, Nevada can be seen dribbling the ball past multiple children as well as scoring several goals.
When contacted for comment, the Winter Park Police Department referred Newsweek to a statement included in an incident report published on October 26.
"The Winter Park Police Department was contacted by a soccer league official who requested response to a disturbance between league officials and the parents of a player," the statement read.
The report noted that the family were "cooperative" with officers and that the incident was a "civil matter."
In a statement shared to social media, Ms. Rachel, the popular children’s content creator, responded to the incident and wrote: "I don’t know much about sports, but the World Cup and all the famous soccer players need to show up for this amazing 3 year old and shower him with love and awesome experiences!!!"
Nevada's family have since set up a fundraiser to aid with his soccer journey, and said the incident had been "heartbreaking" for him.
"Donations will help Nevada continue pursuing soccer in a more supportive setting by covering registration fees, training, equipment, uniforms, travel expenses, and other opportunities for him to keep developing his talent," Griffin wrote. "We need this support as soon as possible so Nevada can move forward and keep doing what he loves."
Newsweek has reached out to the family and i9 Sports for comment via email.
What Video Footage of the Incident Shows
The body camera footage shows the organizer of the game telling officers that the boy’s parents had created a disturbance.
"The kid is good. He’s great," he told officers. "He’s very advanced compared to the other ones, so he’s scoring a lot of goals. But he’s pushing the kids…. So, I try to tell him, don’t push."
"Anyway, I swap the kids out, right, because he’s so good? Everyone deserves that," he said.
There is no physical contact shown in the video published on social media by Nevada’s family.
The organizer tells law enforcement at one point, "I just want him out. Immediately," and said that he would give the couple a refund.
The law enforcement officers then spoke to the family and asked them to leave.
"The game is over," Griffin said, and added, "That’s fine."
"My son actually plays soccer," she said. "They’re mad at my son because he actually plays soccer… they’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer?"
"They say he’s not passing, but nobody’s catching the ball when he’s passing," she added.
"They’re mad at a 3-year-old," she said.
Fundraiser for Nevada Reaches over $25,000
A GoFundMe set up for Nevada has raised over $25,000 and shared more details about the incident.
"At just 3 years old, Nevada could not understand why he was being taken away from a game he loved," the description reads.
"What should have been a happy childhood moment became heartbreaking and distressing for him and deeply painful for our family to witness," it adds.
The fundraiser description also states that it is about more than one "painful" experience and is about "protecting" his passion for the sport.
The toddler’s profile is continuing to rise, and a TikTok profile for Nevada that features clips of him playing soccer has hit 750,000 followers as of reporting.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Tony Phillips.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines