Key Takeaways
- Nevada, a 3-year-old soccer player in Winter Park, Florida, became the center of a police response on Sunday after he reportedly began defeating the opposing team.
- Winter Park police say the matter was civil, not criminal, and that body camera footage shows no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park.
- Nevada's family claims the league asked them to leave and refunded their fall registration after other parents complained that he was hogging the ball.
A 3-year-old soccer player in Winter Park, Florida, had his game interrupted over the weekend after a youth league official called officers on the child.
As seen in a series of TikToks, the soccer player, named Nevada, was ejected from the Saturday (Oct. 24) match after allegedly defeating the other team and being in possession of the ball. In one TikTok, the child’s parents were heard arguing with authorities about the matter.
Shortly after officers arrived, the i9 Sports soccer league official asked them to speak with Nevada’s parents directly because he did not want to escalate the situation. The family was cooperative and requested an event number, which officers provided.
The family says they were told they could not come back to the field and were given a refund for their fall registration after other parents complained that Nevada was hogging the ball.
"They really called the police on a 3-year-old because he had the ball too much," Nevada's father said in the video.
In a statement, the Winter Park Police Department claimed the matter was civil rather than criminal, confirming that officers' body-worn cameras were worn, and that no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park, per News 6.
In a follow-up statement with The Breakfast Club, Nevada’s mother, Martasia Griffin, said her son was “targeted throughout the season because of his talent.” The woman added that the league’s director didn’t defend Nevada or his family after protests from the other players’ families and offered a refund for the boy to leave the program.
“Parents like, ‘Oh, we paid for this just like you did,’” Griffin said. “But if my kid is sitting out the whole thirty minutes so, he's not playing either. You're trying to fault my kid for actually playing soccer. He's 3 years old. His teammates are four and five. He's the youngest on the team.”
