A 3-year-old Black boy was taken out of a youth soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, and a league official called the police on his parents. Video of the day has spread across social media, and the bodycam footage reported since tells a more complicated story than the caption on the viral clip.
The boy is Nevada Pierre. He was playing in an i9 Sports league where most of the other children were 5, one to two years older. His family says he was removed because he was too good. His father said in a video: “They called the police on a three-year-old, cause he’s too good.” His mother, Martasia, said: “As soon as he started the game, they stopped the game.” She said she was told “everybody is paying money, so everybody should play,” and that after she spoke up, “they just called the police.” According to his Instagram, Nevada scored 10 goals in the game despite being pulled early.
The league’s account is different. Body camera footage, as reported by Yahoo Sports, has the organizer telling officers: “The kid is good. He’s great. Really good…he’s scoring a lot of goals. But he’s pushing the kids.” The league director also said the parents were upset about their son’s playing time. The family received a refund.
Winter Park police confirmed that officers responded to a dispute between a league official and the parents and told everyone involved it was a civil matter. No one was arrested. One officer can be heard on the footage saying, “I kind of want to see him play. I bet he’s good.”
The reaction explains why the clip travelled as a Black story. The educator Ms. Rachel called it “racist, sick, traumatizing and disgusting.” Civil rights attorney Ben Crump questioned what message it sends to young athletes when a talented child is removed. Black parents have long had reason to watch how police are summoned to their children’s spaces, from classrooms to ball fields, and a police call over a toddler lands on that history whatever the dispute was about.
The footage as reported does not show officers acting against the family. It also leaves open the question the family raised: why a complaint about playing time and pushing, with a refund on offer, ended with police at a field where the child was 3.
His mother said the day “really traumatized Nevada.” “He still wants to play soccer,” she said. “He just doesn’t want to go back.” i9 Sports said it takes concerns “very seriously” and began reviewing what happened after reaching out to the family.
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