Police Called to 3-Year-Old's Soccer Match in Winter Park

Winter Park police responded to an argument at a youth soccer game Saturday after a league official asked a 3-year-old player's family to leave the field.

The call came to Martin Luther King Jr. Park during an i9 youth soccer league match. Police said the league offered the family a refund of the membership cost. Officers spoke with the league official and the boy's mother, Martasia Griffin, and the department later released body camera footage of both conversations.

In the video, the league official tells officers the child is "very advanced" but that he had been pushing other players. The official said the boy's mother became upset after he was reprimanded, and that the parents then caused "a big scene" and argued with other parents. "I just want them out," the official is heard saying. Griffin, speaking with officers later in the video, said her son was being removed for his skill on the field. "They are literally kicking him out of this place because he's good at soccer," she told police. The police department said in a release that no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park, and that the family cooperated with officers who asked them to leave.

The video circulated online after the weekend. Griffin has posted on Instagram addressing claims that her son pushed other players. YouTuber Ms. Rachel wrote on Instagram: "I'm LIVID! Please sports people give him all the experience and love."

i9 Sports issued a statement saying it takes concerns about the incident very seriously and that the respectful treatment of children and families matters to the organization. The statement said the league is working to understand what happened and will not speculate or share unverified information.

Police, i9 Sports and Griffin are the sources for the account of the dispute.