Police called to Florida football game after parents say 3-year-old was benched for being too good | Soccer
Police were called after an argument involving the parents of a three-year-old at a soccer game in Florida over the weekend.
The boy’s parents can be heard on police cameras saying their son, Nevada, had been expelled because he was too good at soccer and embarrassed other kids. However, a game organizer said Nevada pushed other children and his parents became controversial when their son was removed from the game.
In police camera footage, the event organizer, who works for i9 Sports, a youth sports group, can be heard saying the Nevada parents had caused a disturbance.
“The kid is good. He’s great. Really good,” the organizer says in the footage. “He’s very advanced compared to the others, so he scores a lot of goals. But he pushes the kids… So I try to tell him, don’t push, we want to play without pushing, right?”
The Nevada parents posted a clip of their son at the event in which he can be seen dribbling easily with older kids. The video has since gone viral. Nevada is not seen pushing other children in the images posted by her parents.
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“They’re mad at my son for playing football. They’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at football,” his mother says in the body camera footage. “At first they said he wasn’t passing, but no one was catching the ball when he was passing.”
The i9 Sports employee told police he was willing to reimburse the Nevada parents if they left.
“I just want him out. Immediately,” the organizer told police. “Just give me their names so I can pay them back.”
The Winter Park Police Department said the family agreed to leave the event and no one was arrested.
“The family stated that the game was over and that they were leaving. The family cooperated with the officers,” the department wrote in a statement posted on its website. “No one was arrested, trespassed or forced to leave the park.”
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i9 Sports said it was looking into the incident and had contacted the Nevada family.
“We are aware of the concerns being shared regarding an incident that occurred on a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously,” i9 Sports said in a statement. “The respectful treatment and well-being of each child and family is deeply important to us. We have contacted the family and have begun a review that includes discussions with those involved. While we work to understand the circumstances, we will not speculate or share unverified information. We appreciate everyone who has brought their concerns to our attention.”
One officer, however, seemed to want to see more of Nevada. “I kind of want to see him play. I bet he’s good,” he can be heard telling another officer on body camera.
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