▶ Watch Video: Parents claim 3-year-old was kicked out of soccer league for being too good
Viral video of police being called to a youth soccer game near Orlando, Florida, is drawing outrage, with some claiming the cops showed up because a 3-year-old child was too good, 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 pitch against kids one and two years older than him, is a soccer phenom. Even Thomas Hayes, one of the directors of the youth league Nevada was playing in, told the cops when they arrived, “The kid is very good … He’s great. Really good.”
“He’s really advanced compared to the other ones. He’s scoring a lot of goals, but he’s pushing the kids and scoring,” Hayes was seen saying on police body camera video. Hayes said he’s told the kids not to push while they’re playing, and that there was another incident with Nevada’s parents a few weeks earlier when he swapped some of the players out, including Nevada.
“They don’t like that,” he said.
He told police Nevada’s parents took issue with him telling the refs not to let their son push the other kids, claiming they created “a big scene, arguing with other parents.”
Nevada’s mom told a different story.
She is seen in the body camera video saying they always stand on the opposite side of the field as the other parents to avoid causing any disruption.
“They’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer,” she told the police.
In one video of the incident taken by the family, Nevada’s father is heard saying, “They called the police on a 3-year-old because he’s too good.”
Nevada’s mother told CBS News the coach told Nevada he could stay in his most recent game if he passed the ball, but about halfway through, the cops got involved. She said in the bodycam video that she saw the other parents huddle in a circle talking about him during the game.
In an interview with media personality Lauren Lorosa, Nevada’s mom said, “My son is already dressed. I cannot explain to my 3-year-old son that he cannot play today because he is so good.”
Hayes said he wanted the family to leave, and he was willing to offer them a refund.
Online, there’s been an avalanche of support for Nevada and his family, including from YouTube star Rachel Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, who commented on a post about the incident, saying she’d love to have Nevada on her show.
Not everybody 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 concerns being shared regarding an incident at a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously.”
“The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and family matter deeply to us,” it wrote. “We are working to understand the circumstances and will not speculate or share unverified information.”