Former U.S. men's national team player Eddie Johnson said Monday his soccer academy would train the 3-year-old boy who was removed from an i9 sports youth soccer program in Winter Park, Florida, after tensions centered on the boy's outstanding play boiled over last weekend.
Johnson, the former MLS and Premier League striker who runs EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando, Florida, said on Instagram that the boy's removal from the i9 program, and the youth league's involvement of police in asking his family to leave a park, was emblematic of what ails youth soccer in the United States.
"His situation has brought light to a lot of the things that still exist in youth soccer in this country," Johnson wrote. "Entitlement, Jealousy, Envy, Nepotism, Gatekeeping and profiling especially against people of color."
Last weekend, an i9 Sports youth soccer organizer called police to remove the family of Nevada Pierre. The organizer told officers Nevada had been pushing other players and his family created a disturbance at the park. But in body camera footage of the police response released Monday, the child's parents are seen telling officers that the boy was kicked out of the league because he's too good at soccer.
The child's parents, who have since publicly identified themselves as Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, posted video on several social media channels of their son playing soccer against children before the police interaction.
In the viral video, the boy, Nevada, can be seen dribbling past other children on his way to scoring several goals, then looking on in confusion as Winter Park Police officers ask his family to leave the public park. The video posted by the boy's parents does not depict physical contact between their son and other players.
In a statement to ESPN, a representative for i9 Sports said police were called due a disturbance between parents.
"i9 Sports has reviewed what happened at Saturday's game in Winter Park, including interviews with those in attendance and materials available by the police," the statement read. "This call was not related to the child.
"A league official called police to report a disturbance between adults at the game and to help de-escalate it. The official described the parents as being disruptive. We do not have video of the confrontation itself, and we are not going to characterize the family beyond what was reported to police. The Winter Park Police Department has stated that no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park, and that the matter was civil and not criminal."
The program added that Nevada's parents had successfully requested a refund on Saturday.
"Following the incident, the league asked the adults involved not to continue as participants in the program," it added.
Johnson said Nevada's family sought to have Nevada train at his academy when he was 2, but Johnson told them the child was too young for the program and should seek experience in local youth leagues.