Eddie Johnson to train 3-year-old after kids soccer row
Former U.S. men's national team striker Eddie Johnson will start training 3-year-old Nevada Pierre at his Orlando academy in January after the toddler was removed from an i9 Sports kids soccer game in Winter Park, Florida, when a league official called police amid a dispute over playing time.
Johnson, a former MLS and Premier League forward who runs EJE7 Soccer Academy, said the episode highlights deeper problems in American youth soccer. For more celebrity sports fallout, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
Key Takeaways
- Eddie Johnson offered Nevada Pierre a January start at EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando.
- An i9 Sports official called Winter Park police on Oct. 24, 2026, during a kids soccer match at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
- Parents Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre say their son was sidelined for being too good; the league cites a parent disturbance.
- No one was arrested; i9 says it is reviewing the incident and issued a refund.
- Winter Park officials may reconsider the league's use of city fields after the viral clash.
Why did police come to a kids soccer game?
According to ESPN and local reporting, an i9 Sports athletic director called 911 and described Nevada's mother as disruptive, saying she followed him and called him names while livestreaming.
The official told officers Nevada was more advanced than peers, sometimes pushed other children, and that he had swapped the boy off so others could play—prompting pushback from the parents. Body-camera footage released by Winter Park police shows officers speaking with the family as Nevada stood nearby.
Griffin told ABC News she was defending her son after learning he would be benched again. She said Nevada, who plays against 5-year-olds and trains about three hours a day with his father, scored more than 40 goals in five games this season. Police treated the matter as civil, not criminal.
What did Eddie Johnson offer Nevada Pierre?
Johnson posted on Instagram that Nevada would begin training with EJE7 in January. He wrote that the boy deserves coaches who can understand him and that youth soccer too often fails kids of color.
"We should be praising a three year old with his ability instead of tarnishing it," Johnson said, per the Orlando Sentinel. In comments reported by ESPN, he also listed entitlement, jealousy, gatekeeping, and profiling among problems the case exposed.
ESPN reported the family had sought a place at Johnson's academy when Nevada was 2; Johnson then said the child was too young and should gain experience in local leagues first.
How are Winter Park and i9 Sports responding?
i9 Sports told ESPN police were called over a disturbance between adults, not because of the child, and that the league asked the adults involved not to continue in the program after a refund request. A separate statement said the league had reached out to the family and begun a review.
Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the city will revisit whether i9 continues using municipal fields once that review is finished. Commissioner Craig Russell criticized adult behavior at the match and said the city must protect children and residents.
Griffin's GoFundMe to "Support Nevada's Soccer Journey" had raised more than $56,000 by late October, the Orlando Sentinel reported, as video of the police encounter spread across Instagram and TikTok.