The family of a 3-year-old Florida boy named Nevada has built a following on social media by showcasing some of his impressive soccer skills, but their son’s latest viral moment unfortunately involved the police.
In a series of viral videos posted online, the Black family said that Nevada, who was competing in a Winter Park, Florida, youth soccer league for kids ages 4 to 6, was badly outplaying the other kids on the field.
Nevada’s skill level apparently then led to two officers from the Winter Park Police Department being called following a verbal confrontation between Nevada’s parents and league officials in attendance.
“Nevada was escorted out by the [police] for being the best 3 year old in the world today,” the family wrote in the caption of their initial Instagram post that went viral.
The family later posted that the youth league issued them a refund for Nevada’s registration fee after they were forced to leave the park.
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The videos of the incident surrounding Nevada’s family quickly went viral online, leading to outrage from some watching on social media.
“The cops said ‘they’ll be giving you a refund’.. meaning they called the police to kick that little boy all the way out of the league,” X user @SneakerPeach replied to a tweet containing the viral video. “This behavior makes me sick. Smh”
“Take your child to another league were his career will flourish,” X user @DomKb92 added. “He’s too good to let things like this damage his psyche.”
“Breaks my heart this little boy is terrified because he thinks he did something wrong,” X user @MagicsBurner wrote in a tweet that included a screenshot of Nevada from one of the viral videos.
By Monday morning, the viral posts had reached popular YouTube and Netflix teacher sensation “Ms. Rachel,” who offered to bring Nevada on one of her shows.
“I’m LIVID! Please sports people give him all the experiences and love,” Ms. Rachel wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “[Nevada] we’d love to have him on our show to share his amazing skills. I need sports people to show up for him.
“Recently there was a 1 year old boy who experienced racism during a library event with a puppet and we are showing up for him because we are puppet people. I need my sports people to show up!!! This is racist, sick, traumatizing and disgusting.”
The youth league involved in the controversy and the Winter Park Police Department both released statements on the matter:
“We are aware of concerns being shared regarding an incident at a local i9 Sports program, and we take them very seriously,” the league said. “The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and family matter deeply to us. We have reached out to the family and have begun a review that includes speaking with those involved. While we work to understand the circumstances, we will not speculate or share unverified information. We appreciate everyone who has brought their concerns to our attention.”
“The Winter Park Police Department was contacted by a soccer league official who requested response to a disturbance between league officials and the parents of a player,” the department said.”The league requested the family leave and offered to refund the league cost to family. Shortly after arrival, the officers were requested by the league official to communicate with the family as he did not want to further a disturbance. The family stated the game was over and they were leaving. The family was cooperative with the officers and were provided with an event number for the incident at their request. The incident was a civil matter between those parties and not criminal. No one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park. The Officers body worn cameras confirm the above information.”
