Former U.S. men's national team player Eddie Johnson said Monday that his soccer academy would train a 3-year-old boy who was removed from an i9 Sports youth soccer program in Winter Park, Florida, after tensions over the boy's outstanding play boiled over last weekend. Johnson, the former MLS and Premier League striker who runs EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando, said on Instagram that the removal, and the league's involvement of police in asking the family to leave a park, reflected problems in U.S. youth soccer.
"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."
An i9 Sports organizer called police last weekend to remove the family of Nevada Pierre, saying Nevada had been pushing other players and his family caused a disturbance. In body camera footage released Monday, the child's parents, who have publicly identified themselves as Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, are seen telling officers that the boy was kicked out because he is too good at soccer. Their social media video shows Nevada dribbling past other children and scoring several goals before officers asked the family to leave the public park. The video does not show physical contact between him and other players.
In a statement to ESPN, i9 Sports said police were called over a disturbance between adults and that the call was not related to the child. The Winter Park Police Department said no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave, and that the matter was civil, not criminal. The league said Nevada's parents had requested a refund on Saturday and that the adults involved were asked not to continue as participants. Johnson said the family had sought to have Nevada train at his academy when he was 2, but he told them the child was too young and should first gain experience in local youth leagues.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing