Florida police are pushing back on claims that officers were called to a children’s soccer game because a 3-year-old boy was too talented to play with his teammates.
The Winter Park Police Department said a youth sports director called for help Oct. 24 because he claimed the boy’s parents were being disruptive and wanted them to leave the park. Officers did not issue a trespass warning or file charges, police said.
The department released body camera footage and audio of the call after the encounter sparked outrage online. The boy’s mother, Martasia Griffin, has said her son Nevada’s soccer skills put him at the center of a dispute that ended with police watching the family leave.
The competing accounts have fueled questions about what led a youth sports director to call police to a game involving young children and whether the family was treated fairly.
In a statement, Winter Park police said the parents were already leaving when officers arrived. The department described the dispute as a civil matter between the family and the league.
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“Despite some social media rumors, there was never any suggestion that the call to police was prompted over the child’s on field talent,” the department said in a statement.
The director, Thomas Hayes, did not mention Nevada’s soccer skills during the recorded 911 call. He told the dispatcher that a parent was following him, calling him names and posting about him on Instagram.
“I just have an unruly parent here,” he said, describing the situation as “not really an emergency.”
Hayes asked officers to respond quickly because the family was expected to leave within about 10 minutes.
In body camera footage from the scene, the director discussed Nevada’s abilities with officers while explaining the dispute. Hayes described the boy as “very advanced” and said he scored many goals. The director also claimed Nevada had pushed other children during games and that he had spoken to the family about it.
Hayes told officers the parents argued with him and other parents after he addressed the issue again. He said he wanted both parents removed and planned to refund the family’s registration fee.
An officer told the director that, because the game was at a public park, police could not force the parents to leave simply because they were no longer allowed to participate in the program. The officer said police could try to contact a city employee about issuing a trespass warning if the family refused to leave.
Police said no one was trespassed. Officers helped the league and the parents communicate about a refund, according to the department.
Griffin offered a different account during an interview with The Breakfast Club. She said her son had been targeted throughout the season because of his talent and claimed bigger children had been sent onto the field to knock him over.
Griffin said some parents complained their children weren’t getting a chance to play and threatened to leave the program. She said the director offered her family a refund.
“I cannot explain to my 3-year-old son that he cannot play today because he’s so good,” Griffin said.
She said Nevada was the youngest player on his team, which also included 4- and 5-year-olds.
Griffin confirmed that police did not issue a trespass warning or charge the family. She said officers watched them walk to their car to make sure they left.
“The only thing we got was our money back,” she said.
In body camera footage, Nevada’s mother told officers that the game had ended and her family was already leaving. But she wanted the sports director’s contact information because she doubted the league would refund their money.
Griffin asked officers to arrange a conversation with the director so they could exchange information. Police told her the director did not want to speak with the family.
She then questioned why he had called police in the first place. An officer told her they had responded to a report of a disturbance.
Griffin disputed that she had caused one. She said she spoke up after seeing adults gathered in a circle talking about her son.
“They literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer,” she said.
An officer told Griffin that the director claimed the parents became aggressive when he tried to coach Nevada. Griffin responded that the program did not provide coaching.
“First they say he’s not passing the ball, but nobody is catching the ball when he’s passing,” she said.
Griffin also disputed the director’s claim that the family argued with other parents. She said they usually stayed on the opposite side of the field, away from the other families. She acknowledged speaking to parents that day after seeing them huddled together discussing Nevada.
The mother told officers she was prepared to take the league to court because she did not believe the family would receive a refund.
In a separate body camera recording, Nevada’s father told officers the family paid $300 for their son to play. He said the children gathered on Saturday mornings to play games but received little instruction.
The father claimed coaches repeatedly pulled Nevada from games after he scored. As a result, he said, the 3-year-old often played only 10 minutes of a 30-minute game.
He said the family understood that other children needed playing time, too. He said the family arrived late that day, and Nevada had touched the ball only once before adults gathered to discuss him.
Nevada’s father also said his son knew how to pass the ball, but the other children couldn’t keep up. He said the program expected the children to play as a team without teaching them how.
The youth sports organization i9 Sports said in a statement shared on Instagram that it was aware of concerns about the incident and was working to understand what happened. The organization said it would not speculate or share unverified information.
