Police called after 3-year-old removed from youth soccer game for dominating play
Police were called to break up a heated confrontation on the sidelines of a 5U youth football match after a family was forced to leave the field. Tensions flared when a league official intervened and removed an unusually dominant 3-year-old from the field to give other children a chance to touch the ball. The decision immediately sparked unrest among the boy’s parents, to the point where law enforcement had to be dispatched to escort the family out of the park.
Despite new body camera footage posted to OutKick showing police were called because the parents were disruptive — not because their 3-year-old was “too good” for a predominantly white 5U rookie football league — a Florida family continues to make that claim while raising money on GoFundMe.
Winter Park police were dispatched to a city soccer field Saturday to handle a disturbance reported by a soccer league manager who told police the soccer prodigy’s family doesn’t like it when he tries to make the league fair for all kids.
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“So he scored a lot of goals, but he made the kids do that, all that. So I tried to tell him. Hey, stop!'” i9 Sports league director Thomas Hayes told police with the cameras rolling. “Don’t let him push. I don’t want to play with the push. Okay. So a few weeks ago there were about six kids on the team anyway. I swapped the kids. Right? Because he’s so good. Take him out. They don’t like it. Tell me I’m ignorant. I’m this, I’m that.”
COPS CALLED TO FLORIDA YOUTH FOOTBALL GAME FOR DEAL WITH PARENTS OF 3-YEAR-OLD FOOTBALL PRODIG
Things boiled over on Saturday, according to Hayes. He says the 3-year-old pushed more. That’s when he got involved. This led the boy’s parents to create a “big scene,” Hayes added. The boy’s parents then allegedly began arguing with other parents and Hayes had a situation on his hands.
Enter the police.
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Meanwhile, although Hayes praises the boy’s God-given talents, the prodigy’s mother, Martasia Griffin, is now offering a GoFundMe for her son to break away from what she continues to view as injustice.
“On October 24, 2026, during a game with i9 Sports in Winter Park, Florida, Nevada had an experience that no kid their age should have to go through,” Griffin wrote on GoFundMe where she has now raised over $25,000. “He was removed from the game due to concerns about his skill level, and the situation escalated to the point where law enforcement was called. At just 3 years old, Nevada did not understand why he was being removed from a game he loved. What should have been a happy childhood moment became heartbreaking and distressing for him and deeply painful for our family to watch.”
Thomas Hayes of i9 Sports in Winter Park, Fla., tells police why he wants the family of a 3-year-old boy to leave the park and the league. (OutKick/Winter Park, Florida Police Department)
Based on this, you can assume that Griffin takes no responsibility here. Instead of admitting that they enrolled their advanced son in a beginner-level soccer league, Griffin plays the victim card.
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“As a mother, it has been incredibly difficult to witness the emotional impact this has had on him. We believe that every child, regardless of their abilities, background or potential, deserves the chance to learn, grow and enjoy the game they love in a safe and supportive environment,” Griffin continues.
That’s exactly what Hayes was trying to do. How do other kids enjoy the game if Petit Pelé scores 40 goals in a handful of games without a goalkeeper? It’s a beginner’s league.
It’s true that Nevada is a victim here. He was the victim of parents who signed him up for a beginner’s soccer league that he could dominate with just a few clicks. They had him in this same league in the spring. They knew he was going to dominate the other kids. They had produced dozens of videos of Nevada destroying other children and posted them on social media. “Nevada missed 3 games this season and still finished the season with 40 goals in just 4 games,” the parents bragged in an Instagram post in May.
Yes, boasting about goals in a league without goalkeepers. This is where we are with youth sports.
This was published in July. Nevada was already able to dribble past the entire opposing team. The family knew it would be much the same this fall, but they kept the boy in the league nonetheless.
If there’s one positive takeaway from this story, it’s that Nevada will now be playing against high-level talent where he can continue to develop. He seems to love his athletic ability. It’s great.
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As for the parents, they received an influx of new followers on Instagram and TikTok and $25,000 from GoFundMe. Another Instagram child star is born. Cashing out now will be easy. The hardest part for the boy is yet to come: he must continue to be good, otherwise Internet fame disappears.
Chasing those clicks for families is a tough game. It’s cute now. Let’s see how this plays out.
Gn sports
