Eddie Johnson to Train 3-Year-Old Nevada Pierre — SkimNews
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- Eddie Johnson said Monday that EJE7 Soccer Academy in Orlando would train 3-year-old Nevada Pierre, calling the incident emblematic of entitlement, jealousy, envy, nepotism, gatekeeping and profiling in U.S. youth soccer.
- Nevada Pierre was described by an i9 Sports organizer as pushing other players, while body-camera footage released Monday showed his parents telling officers that the 3-year-old was kicked out because he was too good at soccer.
- Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre posted videos of Nevada dribbling past children and scoring several goals; their viral clip showed no physical contact between him and other players.
- i9 Sports said a league official called police to report a disturbance between adults and help de-escalate it, and said the call was not related to Nevada.
- Winter Park Police Department said no one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park and characterized the matter as civil, not criminal.
- i9 Sports refunded Nevada’s parents on Saturday and asked the adults involved not to continue as participants in the program.
- Eddie Johnson said Nevada’s family sought training at his academy when the child was 2, but he declined because Nevada was too young and recommended local youth leagues.
Why it matters: Nevada’s family gains an immediate training option from Johnson’s academy, while i9 Sports maintains that police were summoned over an adult disturbance rather than the child. The disagreement nevertheless ended Nevada’s participation in his old program, produced a Saturday refund and resulted in the adults i9 identified being asked not to continue.
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