A 3-year-old soccer player was reportedly left “traumatized” after police were called to a youth soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, following an unusual dispute involving the young boy and league officials.
The incident gained widespread attention after a viral video showed the toddler, identified as Nevada, scoring several goals during an i9 Sports youth soccer match. However, the footage later showed his parents speaking with police officers who had been called to the game on Saturday morning.
According to reports, league director Thomas Hayes contacted 911, claiming that a parent at the game was “really, really disruptive.”
In the viral footage, Nevada’s father, Don, suggested that the authorities had been called because his 3-year-old son was simply “too good” at soccer.
In an interview with HuffPost, Nevada’s mother, Martasia, revealed that the incident had left her 3-year-old son deeply upset and emotionally shaken.
“He still wants to play soccer. He just doesn’t want to go back to that place. I don’t think that’s how he should be thinking, that as a 3-year-old he did something wrong,” she explained.
Martasia alleged that Nevada, who competes against children as old as 5, had been singled out throughout the soccer season because of his abilities.
She claimed that before Saturday’s game, several parents, coaches and the league director gathered to discuss how to prevent Nevada from participating so that other children could have a chance to play.
According to Martasia, the most heartbreaking part of the ordeal is that her young son now believes he may have done something wrong to cause the confrontation.
A youth soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, descended into controversy after parents of opposing players reportedly complained that their children struggled to take the ball away from a talented 3-year-old boy named Nevada.
“It’s heartbreaking because now Nevada’s saying he doesn’t wanna go over there. He’s scared that he did something wrong,” his mother, Martasia, said.
According to Martasia, tensions escalated when she approached a group of parents, coaches and the league director who had gathered to discuss her son’s participation in the game.
She claimed that she was simply standing up for Nevada when the situation took an unexpected turn.
“They just called the police,” Martasia alleged.
However, 911 audio obtained by The New York Post presented another account of the confrontation. In the emergency call, league director Thomas Hayes claimed that a parent was “following me around, calling me names in front of the whole bunch of people that are here. I want to be done.”
Police officers responded to a youth soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, following a dispute involving a talented 3-year-old player named Nevada and other attendees.
Two officers from the Winter Park Police Department arrived at approximately 10 a.m. According to a statement released by the department, authorities determined that the disagreement was a “civil matter” rather than a criminal incident.
Police confirmed that no arrests were made and no individuals were issued trespass warnings following the confrontation.
Meanwhile, Nevada’s mother, Martasia, told HuffPost that the youth soccer league had refunded the family following the controversial incident.
