WINTER PARK, Fla. — i9 Sports says it has contacted a family and begun reviewing a dispute at a Winter Park youth soccer game that drew a police response and widespread attention online.
In an updated statement to Channel 9 on Monday, the organization said its review includes speaking with those involved.
Officers responded Saturday morning to Martin Luther King Jr. Park after a league official reported a disturbance involving a player’s parents, according to police records.
The incident gained attention through social media posts, including one shared by Robert Griffin III, who criticized police being called during a dispute involving a 3-year-old soccer player.
i9 Sports responds
“The respectful treatment and well-being of every child and family matter deeply to us,” the organization said.
“We have reached out to the family and have begun a review that includes speaking with those involved.”
i9 Sports said it would not speculate or share unverified information while working to understand what happened.
Records describe competing accounts
The police incident log records different explanations for the disagreement.
A league official told officers that parents were upset about their son’s playing time and that the child would no longer be allowed to participate in the league.
Another entry states that the parents were upset because they believed their child was being criticized for playing too well and was being taken out of the game.
The log does not resolve that disagreement.
Police say family was cooperative
In a statement released Monday, the department said a league official requested police assistance with a disturbance between league officials and the parents.
The league had asked the family to leave and offered to refund its fees, according to the statement.
After officers arrived, a league official asked them to speak with the family because he did not want to prolong the disturbance, police said.
The family told officers the game was over and they were leaving. Police described the family as cooperative and said officers provided an event number at the family’s request.
The department characterized the incident as a civil matter, not a criminal one.
“No one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park,” the department said.
Police said officers’ body-camera recordings support the department’s account.
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