Police were called to an i9 Sports youth soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, over the weekend, after a league director, Thomas Hayes, asked officers to remove the parents of 3-year-old Nevada Pierre, who plays against 5-year-olds and has gone viral for his skills. Nevada’s family says he was pushed out because he was too good. Hayes says he called police because of a disruptive parent and that Nevada had been pushing other players. i9 Sports and Winter Park police have not publicly confirmed the reason for the call.
A 3-year-old with a viral highlight reel, a league director, and a 911 call: two very different accounts of what happened on a Florida soccer field have drawn nationwide attention.
What the Family Says
Videos shared by Nevada’s family show the toddler dribbling past older opponents and scoring goals. His mother, Martasia Griffin, says other parents were unhappy because their 5-year-old players struggled to take the ball from him, and she alleges the league removed her son because he was outperforming the older children. She says she saw other parents huddle in a circle talking about him during the game.
“They’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer,” she told officers in body camera footage.
In a video taken by the family, Nevada’s father says, “They called the police on a 3-year-old because he’s too good.” According to the family’s account on TikTok, the league issued a trespass notice against them, officers escorted the family off the field in front of other children, and they later received a refund for Nevada’s fall 2026 registration. Griffin told CBS News the coach had told Nevada he could stay in his latest game if he passed the ball, but about halfway through, the police got involved.
On body camera, Griffin asks officers what her family did wrong, saying they stand on the opposite side of the field from other parents to avoid any disruption. “He’s done nothing but play soccer,” she said.
What the League Director Says
Hayes, one of the youth league’s directors, has said the 911 call was about the parents’ behavior, not Nevada’s ability. He told officers on arrival, “The kid is very good… He’s great. Really good.”
In the 911 call, Hayes told the dispatcher that an “unruly parent” was following him around and calling him names. He described the parent as “really, really disruptive, following me around and calling me names in front of this whole bunch of people,” and said he wanted her gone. He asked for officers to be sent quickly because the family was about to leave within ten minutes, and said, “I just want her off the property immediately, please.”
On police body camera video, Hayes said Nevada is “really advanced compared to the other ones” and “scoring a lot of goals, but he’s pushing the kids.” He said he had told referees not to let Nevada push other children, and that an incident with the family a few weeks earlier, in which he swapped out some players including Nevada, had led to a “big scene” with other parents. “They don’t like that,” he said. Hayes said he wanted the family to leave and offered them a refund.
Reaction and What’s Next
The viral video has prompted a wave of support for Nevada. YouTube star Rachel Accurso, known as Ms. Rachel, commented that she would love to have him on her show. According to Phil Lewis of HuffPost, Nevada trains three hours a day with his father and has a sizable following on social media. One coach commented, “These parents should be ashamed of themselves.”
Griffin says her son is “traumatized” and that he is set to join the youth soccer training program of former professional player Eddie Johnson in January. “Now that this situation happened, he’s just gonna take [Nevada] under his wing because he has the proper program for him,” she said.
i9 Sports said on Facebook that it is “aware of concerns being shared regarding an incident at a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously.” The league said it is working to understand the circumstances and “will not speculate or share unverified information.” Neither i9 Sports nor the Winter Park Police Department has publicly confirmed the exact reason for the call.
