Nevada Pierre is 3 years old. Last Saturday, police showed up at his soccer game in Winter Park, Florida.
He plays in an i9 Sports league, and the kids he plays against are around 5. His parents say that’s the whole problem. In videos they posted online, Nevada dribbles past older kids and scores. His parents say he put in 10 goals that day, even though he was pulled from the game early.
They also say the other team’s parents were upset. According to the family, no one could take the ball from him, and some parents said he was “trying to put on a show” and wasn’t passing. Nevada’s mother, Martasia Griffin, shared a caption with one of the videos. It said the league kicked him out because every week no one could take the ball from him, and that some parents on the other team didn’t think it was fair.
The league tells it differently. A league official called police and reported a disturbance involving Nevada’s parents. He told officers the boy had pushed other players and that the parents argued with him over playing time. Martasia says Nevada wasn’t hitting anyone. Police body camera video shows the official telling officers, “He’s very advanced compared to the other ones.”
On camera, the official asks the officers to tell the family that Nevada can’t play anymore. He says the league will refund the money. His parents say they paid $300. Martasia told the officers, “They’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer.” His father, Don Pierre, said, “They really called the police on a 3-year-old because he had the ball too much.”
Winter Park police put out a statement Monday. They called it a civil matter, not a criminal one. They said the family was cooperative and already leaving. “No one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park,” the department said.
Since then, the league has refunded the fee and offered to put Nevada on a different team. His parents say they plan to turn that down. i9 Sports says it has contacted the family and started a review of what happened.
Martasia has now set up a GoFundMe to support her son. It had passed $25,000 as of Tuesday. Former U.S. soccer player Eddie Johnson has also offered Nevada a spot in his training program.
What the review turns up is still unknown, and so is where Nevada will play next.
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