ORLANDO, Fla. — Eddie Johnson, the former striker for the U.S. men’s national team, said that his Central Florida soccer academy would train the 3-year-boy who was removed from an i9 Sports youth program last weekend.
Johnson, the former MLS and Premier League player who runs EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando, announced the offer in an Instagram post on Monday. He said that Nevada Pierre’s removal from the program in Winter Park, and the league’s decision to call the police, are trends that are hurting youth soccer in the United States, ESPN reported.
The boy will start training at Johnson’s academy in January.
“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.”
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League officials with the i9 Sports program contacted the Winter Park Police Department on Oct. 25 about an alleged disturbance at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Police body camera footage went viral as the boy’s parents spoke with officers.
The boy was excelling during the match, scoring several goals, but league officials were allegedly concerned that the child was pushing other players. The boy’s parents, Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, disputed that contention, so police were called by an i9 representative, ESPN reported.
The Winter Park Police Department addressed the issue in a news release and police report, noting that no arrests were made and calling the incident a civil matter, not criminal.
The kid is good. He’s great. Really good,” the organizer tells responding officers, according to ESPN. “He’s very advanced compared to the other ones, so he’s scoring a lot of goals. But he’s pushing the kids.
“So, I try to tell him, don’t push; we want to play without pushing, right?”
In a statement to ESPN, a representative for i9 Sports said police were called because of a disturbance between parents.
[ Red card? Dispute between family of 3-year-old soccer player, league goes viral ]
“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.”