Outrage after Florida police allegedly called on 3yo soccer player’s family; his parents claim it’s because their son is too good
The parents insisted their son was targeted for his skill
Police were called to a youth soccer game in Florida over the weekend after a dispute involving the parents of a three-year-old player. In police body cam footage, the parents of the child can be heard telling officers that their son had been kicked out because he was too good.
According to ESPN, a Florida youth soccer organizer, who works for i9 Sports, called the police on the family of Nevada, a three-year-old player who was benched for allegedly pushing other players. In the body cam footage, the organizer is heard telling police, “He’s great at soccer. He’s great. Real good.”
“He’s very advanced compared to the other ones,” the coach continued. “So he’s scoring a lot of goals. But he’s pushing the kids… So, I try to tell him, don’t push; we want to play without pushing, right?” He then tells the officers, “I just want him out. Immediately.”
Nevada’s parents dispute the pushing claims
The parents challenged the organizer’s claims of pushing, instead telling officers that their son was benched because he was too good. “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,” the mother is heard saying in the body cam footage.
Nevada’s parents later posted a clip to TikTok showing their son playing soccer that does not appear to show any pushing. The caption asks, “Where’s the pushing?” More footage showed Nevada at the game; in the caption, the parents claimed that other parents had complained that he was outperforming the other children.
Nevada was also allegedly accused of not passing the ball enough in the match, according to the parents. “Mind you he is a 3 year old playing with 5 years old,” the parents added in the caption of the TikTok video.
The i9 Sports worker who organized the match offered the parents a refund for the event. In the body cam footage, he is heard asking officers to get the contact details of the parents so that he can give them their money back.
Officers did not eject the family from the park as they claimed that they did not have the authority. However, the family was “cooperative with the officers” according to a statement from the Winter Park Police. Meanwhile, i9 Sports said it was reviewing the situation, according to The Guardian.
“The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and family matter deeply to us. We have reached out to the family and have begun a review that includes speaking with those involved,” the statement reads.
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