A viral video showing police called to a youth soccer game near Orlando, Fla., is sparking outrage, with some saying the officers showed up because a 3-year-old was being too nice, while the league’s director says the call was made because the parents were being disruptive.
No one disputes that 3-year-old Nevada, who can be seen in several videos dominating on the field against kids a year or two older than him, is a soccer phenomenon. Even Thomas Hayes, one of the directors of the youth league Nevada played in, told the cops when they arrived, “The kid is really good…He’s great. Really good.”
“He’s really advanced compared to the others. He scores a lot of goals, but he pushes the kids and scores,” Hayes said on the police body camera video. Hayes said he told the kids not to push while they were playing and that there was another incident with Nevada’s parents a few weeks earlier when he traded some players, including Nevada.
“They don’t like it,” he said.
He told police that the Nevada parents disagreed with him telling the referees not to let their son push other children, saying they had created “a big scene by arguing with other parents.”
Nevada’s mother told a different story.
She is seen in the body camera video saying they always stand on the opposite side of the field from other parents to avoid causing any disruption.
“They literally kicked him out of this place because he’s good at soccer,” she told police.
In a video of the incident taken by the family, Nevada’s father can be heard saying, “They called the police on a 3-year-old because he’s too good.”
Nevada’s mother told CBS News that the coach told Nevada he could stay in his most recent game if he passed the ball, but about halfway through the cops intervened. She said in the body camera video that she saw the other parents gathering in a circle talking about him during the game.
In an interview with media personality Lauren Lorosa, Nevada’s mother said, “My son is already dressed. I can’t explain to my 3-year-old that he can’t play today because he’s too good.”
Hayes said he wanted the family to leave and was willing to offer them a refund.
Online, there has been an outpouring of support for Nevada and his family, including from YouTube star Rachel Accursobetter known as Ms. Rachelwho commented on an article about the incident, saying she would love to have Nevada on her show.
Not everyone has been supportive, with one coach writing: “These parents should be ashamed of themselves.” »
The league, i9 Sports, wrote on Facebook that it was “aware of the concerns shared regarding an incident that occurred on a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously.”
“The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and every family is deeply important to us,” the text reads. “We are working to understand the circumstances and will not speculate or share unverified information.”
Gn sports
