Former U.S. men's national team player Eddie Johnson said on Monday that his soccer academy will train a 3-year-old boy who was removed from an i9 Sports youth soccer program in Winter Park, Florida. The decision follows tensions over the child's standout play that came to a head over the weekend.
Johnson, a former MLS and Premier League striker, runs EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando. In a post on Instagram, he said the episode, including the youth league's decision to involve police in asking the family to leave a park, reflects deeper problems in American youth soccer.
"His situation has brought light to a lot of the things that still exist in youth soccer in this country," Johnson wrote. "Entitlement, Jealousy, Envy, Nepotism, Gatekeeping and profiling especially against people of color."
On Saturday, an i9 Sports organizer called police to have the family of Nevada Pierre removed. The organizer told officers that Nevada had been pushing other players and that his family had caused a disturbance at the park. Body camera footage of the police response, released Monday, shows the boy's parents telling officers their son was kicked out of the league because he is too good at soccer.
The parents, who have since identified themselves publicly as Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, shared video on several social media channels of their son playing against other children before police arrived. In the widely viewed clip, Nevada dribbles past other children and scores several goals, then looks on in confusion as Winter Park Police officers ask his family to leave the public park. The footage posted by the parents does not show physical contact between Nevada and other players.
In a statement to ESPN, a representative for i9 Sports said police were called because of a disturbance between parents. "This call was not related to the child," the statement said. The organization said it had reviewed the game, including interviews with people who were there and materials available from police.
According to the statement, a league official called police to report a disturbance among adults and to help de-escalate it, describing the parents as disruptive. The program said it has no video of the confrontation and would not characterize the family beyond what was reported to police. It added that the Winter Park Police Department has said no one was arrested, trespassed or forced to leave the park, and that the matter was civil rather than criminal.
i9 Sports also said Nevada's parents successfully requested a refund on Saturday, and that after the incident the league asked the adults involved not to continue as participants in the program.
Johnson said the family had previously sought to have Nevada train at his academy when the boy was 2. At the time, he told them the child was too young for the program and should gain experience in local youth leagues.
