Police were called to a children’s soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, on Oct. 24, and the family of a 3-year-old player named Nevada says it was because he was too good.

Nevada was playing in an i9 Sports league against 5-year-olds. In a video his parents posted to Instagram, he dribbles past older opponents and scores before officers appear on the sidelines. It drew more than 4 million views, WKMG News 6 reported.

“They called the police on a 3-year-old because he had the ball for too long,” his father, Don, says in the video.

His mother, Martasia Griffin, says opposing parents complained that nobody could get the ball from her son. She told HuffPost the league director said “everybody is paying money, so everybody should play,” and that police were called after she spoke up. The family says Nevada was kicked out of the league and shared a screenshot of the refund for his fall registration.

“They’re mad at my son because he actually plays soccer,” Griffin can be heard telling officers on body camera video. “So they’re literally kicking him out of this place because he’s good at soccer.”

Must Read

What police and the league say

Winter Park police say they were called about Nevada’s parents, not Nevada. In an Oct. 26 news release, the department said a league official asked for help with “a disturbance between league officials and the parents of a player,” and that the league had asked the family to leave and offered a refund. The family was cooperative, police said.

“The incident was a civil matter between those parties and not criminal. No one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park,” the release says. That pushes back on viral posts claiming the family was trespassed and escorted off the field.

Police also released the 911 call and body camera footage. On the call, the league director says it’s “not really an emergency” but reports an “unruly parent” being “really disruptive.” The police event report, obtained by Moneywise, also notes the parents were upset their son was being “scorned for playing too well.”

On the bodycam, a league official tells officers Nevada is “very advanced” but pushes other kids, and that he’d been subbing him out so everyone gets playing time. “They tell me I’m ignorant, I’m this, I’m that,” he says of the parents. “I just want them out. Immediately.”

The local franchise, i9 Sports Maitland/Winter Park, told WKMG it takes the concerns “very seriously,” has reached out to the family and has begun a review. It said it “will not speculate or share unverified information” in the meantime.

Who owns i9 Sports

The company, which calls itself the nation’s largest multisport youth sports franchisor, announced its 300th franchise signing in September.

League franchising works like a sandwich shop. Local operators buy the right to use the i9 name and systems in a set territory. Opening one costs $59,900 to $69,900, according to i9’s 2026 franchise disclosure document.

That document shows the average unit took in about $458,800 in registration fees in 2025. Among 129 units that reported fuller financials, average revenue was about $514,100, with roughly 25% left as operating profit.

Its parent, Youth Enrichment Brands, launched in 2021 with its purchase of i9, backed by Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital. Roark, which specializes in franchises, also owns Subway and backs Inspire Brands, parent of Dunkin’, Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Why youth sports costs are drawing scrutiny

The average U.S. family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46% from 2019 and about twice the rate of inflation, according to an Aspen Institute survey. Families’ spending on soccer jumped 69% over that stretch. Aspen estimates parents spend more than $40 billion a year on youth sports.

On June 30, a House education subcommittee held its second hearing on youth sports costs and private equity. Witnesses said private investment isn’t inherently harmful but causes problems when profit outweighs kids’ interests, according to an Aspen Institute recap.

The Let Kids Play Act, introduced May 13 by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., would go further. It would bar private equity-backed “vulture investors” from youth sports, force them to divest within two years, ban junk fees and let families and states sue. It had no Republican co-sponsors as of the June hearing. Because i9’s parent company was built with private equity backing, brands like it could fall under the bill’s reach.

Even smaller programs can leave families exposed. Families in Iowa were out about $220,000 when a youth sports program went bust, and juggling more than one young athlete makes the math harder still.

Nevada was already a social media star

Nevada’s family had a sizable following long before the game, built on clips of his soccer skills, CBC News reported. His parents run his accounts under @nevadaney10, where he has about 580,000 followers on TikTok and over 500,000 on Instagram. Griffin told HuffPost her son started dribbling at 10 months old and trains three hours a day with his father.

The family’s caption on the viral clip said Nevada had been “escorted out” by police for being the best 3-year-old in the world. The account has kept posting videos of him playing since, and Ms. Rachel has invited him on her show.

On The Breakfast Club, Lauren LaRosa reported that i9 offered Nevada the chance to play more weeks in a different league. Griffin turned it down.

“I cannot explain to my 3-year-old son that he cannot play today because he’s so good,” she said on the show. “I continued to let him play until the police walked in.”

He’s set to join former pro soccer player Eddie Johnson’s training program in Orlando in January.

And at least one responding officer is curious. “I kinda want to see him play,” he can be heard saying at the end of the bodycam video. “I bet he’s good.”