A video showing police being called to a youth soccer game near Orlando, Florida, has spread widely online and prompted outrage. Some viewers claim officers were summoned because a 3-year-old player was simply too talented. The league's director says the call was made because the child's parents were being disruptive.
Nobody involved disputes that the boy, named Nevada, is an exceptional player. Videos show him dominating against children who are one and two years older. Thomas Hayes, one of the directors of the youth league, said as much to officers when they arrived. "The kid is very good .. He's great. Really good," Hayes told them.
Hayes also raised concerns on police body camera video. "He's really advanced compared to the other ones. He's scoring a lot of goals, but he's pushing the kids and scoring," he said. He added that he has told the children not to push during games. According to Hayes, there was another incident a few weeks earlier, when he substituted some players, Nevada among them. "They don't like that," he said of the boy's parents.
Hayes told police the parents objected when he asked referees not to let their son push other children. He claimed they created "a big scene, arguing with other parents."
Nevada's mother gave a different account. On the body camera footage, she says the family always stands on the opposite side of the field from 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 officers. In a video recorded by the family, Nevada's father says, "They called the police on a 3-year-old because he's too good."
The mother told CBS News that the coach had said Nevada could stay in his most recent game if he passed the ball, but that police became involved about halfway through. She also said on the body camera video that she saw other parents huddle in a circle and talk about him during the match. In an interview with media personality Lauren Lorosa, she 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 was willing to offer them a refund.
Online reaction has included a flood of support for Nevada and his family. One commenter on a post about the incident said she would love to have the boy on her show. Not all responses have been sympathetic to the family, however, and one coach wrote, "These parents should be ashamed of themselves."
The league, i9 Sports, responded in a Facebook post saying it was "aware of concerns being shared regarding an incident at a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously." It added: "The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and family matter deeply to us. We are working to understand the circumstances and will not speculate or share unverified information."
