Latest / The Breakfast Club / Too Good to Play? A 3-Year-Old's Talent Sparks Outrage
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Let's get, let's get, let's get to it, time to
- 0:01Speaker 1: do it. I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit
- 0:03Speaker 1: about everything and everybody. You hear that exclusive? You know
- 0:06Speaker 1: she don't lie about that, right? Lauren came in hot.
- 0:09Speaker 2: Hey y'all, what's up?
- 0:10Speaker 1: It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is another episode of The
- 0:13Speaker 1: Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on
- 0:16Speaker 1: all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the
- 0:19Speaker 1: conversations that shake the room, baby. Now today, we are
- 0:22Speaker 1: not going to get into the behind the scenes of
- 0:24Speaker 1: the grind, although I do have a lot to talk
- 0:26Speaker 1: to you guys about. We'll do that in another episode,
- 0:28Speaker 1: so make sure you stay locked right here to the
- 0:30Speaker 1: latest with Lorna Rosa, because I want to jump right
- 0:33Speaker 1: on into a exclusive conversation that I had with a
- 0:37Speaker 1: woman named Martasia Griffin. Now, Miss Martasia Griffin is the
- 0:42Speaker 1: mother of a three-year-old, young, black, beautiful boy who is
- 0:46Speaker 1: a soccer player. Not only is he a soccer player,
- 0:49Speaker 1: but he's already shaping up to be one of the
- 0:51Speaker 1: best in the game. And I'm only saying this because
- 0:54Speaker 1: it is true. So there's a three-year-old boy. His name
- 0:56Speaker 1: is Nevada. He goes by... nevada nay 10 on instagram
- 1:00Speaker 1: and across social media you guys may have seen his
- 1:03Speaker 1: videos because i've certainly seen them prior to this incident
- 1:05Speaker 1: they go viral he plays soccer he's amazing at it
- 1:08Speaker 1: the footwork is amazing now there was an incident that
- 1:11Speaker 1: occurred over the weekend that unfortunately went viral maybe fortunately
- 1:15Speaker 1: because we're here having the conversation now miss martasia griffin
- 1:19Speaker 1: nevada's mom and his dad had to face off against
- 1:23Speaker 1: police because parents on the soccer team called police to
- 1:26Speaker 1: escort them off of the field, claiming that there was
- 1:29Speaker 1: a disruption. But really, the conversation is, he's too good.
- 1:33Speaker 1: And why were police called on him because he's too good?
- 1:36Speaker 1: He's three years old. I get into this conversation exclusively
- 1:39Speaker 1: with Ms. Martasia Griffin about the police being called, about
- 1:43Speaker 1: whether they will be taking legal action because her three-year-old
- 1:46Speaker 1: child is now traumatized, and what this all means for
- 1:49Speaker 1: other kids learning about not apologizing for being good at something.
- 1:54Speaker 1: Let's get into it now. So talk me through what happened, like,
- 1:59Speaker 1: from beginning to end. So you guys, were you, was
- 2:02Speaker 1: it a team that he's on, or was it like
- 2:04Speaker 1: an open, like, show up and just play? Like, what
- 2:07Speaker 1: was that?
- 2:08Speaker 3: No, it's a league, and he's been playing with them.
- 2:11Speaker 2: He played with them two seasons this year. So this
- 2:14Speaker 2: is his second season this year. And the seasons are
- 2:19Speaker 2: six weeks each.
- 2:21Speaker 1: Got it.
- 2:23Speaker 3: And he's been playing for five weeks now.
- 2:26Speaker 2: I think they have one more game, and then the
- 2:29Speaker 2: season is over next Saturday.
- 2:32Speaker 1: So he shows up to the game. Obviously, he's, you know,
- 2:36Speaker 1: really good. I've seen some of his, like, videos be
- 2:39Speaker 1: viral before. And what happens at this game that causes
- 2:44Speaker 1: police to be called?
- 2:47Speaker 2: Okay, so he's been targeted, like, throughout the season because
- 2:52Speaker 2: of his talent, you know?
- 2:53Speaker 4: And I try to.
- 2:55Speaker 2: give it the benefit of doubt because they're kids and
- 2:58Speaker 2: it's other kids around and I understand that other kids
- 3:02Speaker 2: do need to play even though it's not my son's
- 3:05Speaker 2: fault that he plays really good but overall they used
- 3:09Speaker 2: to send bigger kids over to like knock him over
- 3:14Speaker 2: inappropriately or switch players mid-game.
- 3:18Speaker 3: That's really, like, huge just.
- 3:20Speaker 4: To, like, see if he failed. They would sit him
- 3:24Speaker 4: out games. Like, the games are only 30 minutes.
- 3:26Speaker 3: He probably played only.
- 3:27Speaker 4: 10 minutes of it.
- 3:29Speaker 2: They're not subbing him in for another kid and putting
- 3:32Speaker 2: him in. That's a thing, but that's not what they
- 3:36Speaker 2: was doing. They was just taking him out. So at
- 3:39Speaker 2: this game, the last game yesterday, He played for like
- 3:44Speaker 2: only three minutes, made a score to go. The coaches, directors,
- 3:49Speaker 2: and some of the parents was all in one circle.
- 3:52Speaker 2: And I seen them talking in one circle. And I
- 3:54Speaker 2: walk up to the circle like, are y'all talking about
- 3:57Speaker 2: my son? And one of the parents like, oh, if
- 4:00Speaker 2: y'all don't do something about it, about none of the
- 4:03Speaker 2: kids being able.
- 4:04Speaker 3: To play, we're going to leave. We're just going to
- 4:07Speaker 3: leave this program.
- 4:09Speaker 2: And the director didn't take up for us. He wasn't
- 4:13Speaker 2: on our side. I guess he agreed, like other kids
- 4:17Speaker 2: need to play more. So Nevada shouldn't be here. So
- 4:20Speaker 2: he offered a refund. He offered the refund, but we.
- 4:26Speaker 4: Had already came there. We already came to play. My
- 4:29Speaker 4: son is already dressed.
- 4:31Speaker 2: I cannot explain to my three-year-old son that he cannot
- 4:34Speaker 2: play today because he's so good.
- 4:36Speaker 4: So I continued to let him play.
- 4:39Speaker 2: It was still probably like 15 or 14 minutes of
- 4:42Speaker 2: the game.
- 4:42Speaker 3: It's only a 30-minute game. I continued to let him play.
- 4:45Speaker 2: When he continued to let him play, the police walked in.
- 4:48Speaker 4: They called the police.
- 4:50Speaker 2: I don't know if they called the police as soon
- 4:51Speaker 2: as I spoke up, as if my son should play
- 4:54Speaker 2: like every other kid.
- 4:56Speaker 4: Parents like, oh, we paid for this just like you did.
- 5:00Speaker 2: But if my kid is sitting out the whole 30
- 5:03Speaker 2: minutes or so each.
- 5:04Speaker 4: Time, he's not playing either. I'm not getting my money either.
- 5:09Speaker 2: Like, it's just you're trying to fault my kid for
- 5:13Speaker 2: actually playing soccer. And he's three years old and his
- 5:18Speaker 2: teammates are four and five.
- 5:20Speaker 4: He's the youngest on the team.
- 5:23Speaker 1: So, after, when the police arrived, what did they say
- 5:27Speaker 1: to you as far as why they were called? Because,
- 5:29Speaker 1: you know, normally they'll walk up and say, oh, we
- 5:31Speaker 1: were called for a disturbance, or we were called for, like,
- 5:33Speaker 1: what did they say?
- 5:34Speaker 3: Yeah, they said that they was called for.
- 5:36Speaker 4: A disturbance, but we didn't get no trespassing. We didn't
- 5:39Speaker 4: get no nothing.
- 5:41Speaker 1: So, you weren't charged?
- 5:42Speaker 4: No, nothing.
- 5:42Speaker 2: Okay.
- 5:44Speaker 1: So no violations, death tickets.
- 5:46Speaker 2: Nothing in a criminal matter that's supposed to happen.
- 5:49Speaker 3: Like, you know how you committed a crime?
- 5:51Speaker 2: You got to get some type of proof that what
- 5:53Speaker 2: is going on or at least a trespassing or at
- 5:56Speaker 2: least a warning. Nothing happened like that. The only thing
- 6:01Speaker 2: we got was our money back.
- 6:04Speaker 1: So the police show up, they talk to you guys,
- 6:06Speaker 1: you get your money back, and then what, they escort
- 6:08Speaker 1: you to your car and you just go home?
- 6:12Speaker 4: Yeah, just left, yeah. They didn't escort us all the.
- 6:15Speaker 2: Way to our car, but they watched us walk to
- 6:17Speaker 2: the car to make sure that we're actually leaving.
- 6:20Speaker 4: And not staying, you know?
- 6:22Speaker 1: And when the police.
- 6:23Speaker 4: And my.
- 6:24Speaker 3: Son was crying. My son was crying.
- 6:26Speaker 2: He was, like, traumatized. Like, he thought that he did
- 6:31Speaker 2: something bad. And he thought that me and his dad
- 6:34Speaker 2: was in trouble. And he thought, like, maybe I should
- 6:36Speaker 2: have never... He didn't say it like that, but that's
- 6:40Speaker 2: what he was giving.
- 6:41Speaker 4: Like, maybe I should have never dated like that.
- 6:43Speaker 2: Or maybe I should have just not scored so many times.
- 6:46Speaker 4: Maybe they would let me play. But it's so sad.
- 6:52Speaker 1: Okay, so once you guys then leave, you said that
- 6:56Speaker 1: police did give you a contact. So what do they
- 6:59Speaker 1: want you to follow up on? Like, is there an
- 7:00Speaker 1: investigation or something?
- 7:03Speaker 3: No. No. Just if the police just told me.
- 7:06Speaker 2: And that is on body camera, if I don't get
- 7:10Speaker 2: my refund, I should take it to the civil court.
- 7:13Speaker 1: Got you. And when you told the police what was
- 7:17Speaker 1: happening once they got to you, what was their response to.
- 7:19Speaker 2: All of this?
- 7:21Speaker 4: Just laughing and this and this and that.
- 7:24Speaker 2: They didn't really have too much to say.
- 7:26Speaker 4: They was more a little confused too, but.
- 7:31Speaker 2: They just had to do what, the call, what, response. Like,
- 7:35Speaker 2: the director said he wanted us removed from the field
- 7:39Speaker 2: for disturbance.
- 7:40Speaker 1: And I know you mentioned, you know, that the parents
- 7:43Speaker 1: and the director and different people at this league that
- 7:46Speaker 1: you guys have been a part of for multiple games
- 7:47Speaker 1: now were in this circle up. Has anyone from the
- 7:50Speaker 1: team or the I-9 sports organization reached out to you
- 7:55Speaker 1: to just check on you guys, to apologize or anything?
- 7:58Speaker 4: They offered us a free... CJ. Now he's free of charge.
- 8:04Speaker 1: For you to come back and play with the same team?
- 8:06Speaker 2: Come back to play at a different location, same company.
- 8:13Speaker 1: And are you guys going to take them up on that?
- 8:15Speaker 2: No.
- 8:16Speaker 4: Absolutely not.
- 8:18Speaker 1: So how's your baby? How's your baby doing?
- 8:22Speaker 4: He's good. I asked him, do you want to go
- 8:24Speaker 4: back to the soccer place? He was like, no. And
- 8:27Speaker 4: I asked him why. He was like, the police is
- 8:29Speaker 4: over there. and stuff like that.
- 8:32Speaker 2: I think he's more just listening to different conversations he's
- 8:35Speaker 2: confused but he wants to play soccer with other another team.
- 8:44Speaker 1: Do you guys I know.
- 8:45Speaker 2: That I can't take him back to that field like
- 8:47Speaker 2: he wouldn't play like how he usually play if I
- 8:50Speaker 2: take him back because he think he did something wrong
- 8:53Speaker 2: I keep trying to tell him that he didn't but
- 8:55Speaker 2: he's three it's like the conversation it's not getting him
- 8:59Speaker 2: aware because he's.
- 9:00Speaker 1: Three So, what was the rest of your day like
- 9:09Speaker 1: just trying to explain to him that day, like, what
- 9:13Speaker 1: had happened? I know you mentioned he was, like, really
- 9:15Speaker 1: confused and he was scared because the police came and
- 9:17Speaker 1: he thought you guys were in trouble. But, like, you know,
- 9:20Speaker 1: he's three, so I'm sure he has, like, a lot of, like,
- 9:22Speaker 1: just trying to ask a lot of questions. And, like,
- 9:25Speaker 1: you know, what was your day like for the rest
- 9:26Speaker 1: of that day just talking him through all of this stuff?
- 9:31Speaker 3: On that day, he was just more, he was still in.
- 9:33Speaker 4: His same self.
- 9:34Speaker 2: He was just more of like, he wasn't excited like
- 9:39Speaker 2: how he finished his game.
- 9:40Speaker 4: Like he does, he works so hard. My baby works
- 9:44Speaker 4: so hard.
- 9:45Speaker 2: Like at least like he put in two hours a
- 9:47Speaker 2: day training with his dad. He plays with his cousins.
- 9:53Speaker 2: Like they do like small matches.
- 9:56Speaker 3: When he's outside, he's always.
- 9:58Speaker 4: Kicking the ball. This is just something that he do.
- 10:02Speaker 2: Like a mini obsession for a kid. So he said
- 10:08Speaker 2: that he was sad because he didn't get a medal.
- 10:13Speaker 2: I think that that's the problem that he has because
- 10:15Speaker 2: he see that he does so much work.
- 10:18Speaker 4: He come there and score all the goals, he do
- 10:23Speaker 4: what he's supposed.
- 10:24Speaker 2: To do, and then at the end of the game,
- 10:26Speaker 2: every time, they give the medal to another kid.
- 10:32Speaker 1: And do you feel like, I mean, of course, he's
- 10:34Speaker 1: really good, right? But do you also feel like.
- 10:36Speaker 2: And I never walked up to them and be like,
- 10:38Speaker 2: why you didn't give my kid this?
- 10:39Speaker 3: Why you didn't give my kid that?
- 10:41Speaker 4: Because they're kids, you know? It's supposed to be a
- 10:44Speaker 4: fun environment, every kid... that kid don't understand, like, you know,
- 10:48Speaker 4: if I came up and said something like that because
- 10:51Speaker 4: they may be thinking they're trying their best, you know?
- 10:53Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 10:54Speaker 4: But at some point, my baby feelings have to matter. Like,
- 10:58Speaker 4: it have to. I have been quiet long enough.
- 11:03Speaker 2: He done played at least 12 weeks in total this
- 11:07Speaker 2: year with i9 Sports.
- 11:10Speaker 1: Do you feel like this is happening?
- 11:11Speaker 3: So imagine how many times I.
- 11:13Speaker 4: close my mouth.
- 11:15Speaker 2: Because yesterday wasn't just the first day that something like
- 11:18Speaker 2: that happened it's just yesterday was the last fall of them.
- 11:23Speaker 4: Taking him out the game or you know making.
- 11:25Speaker 2: Him feel like he's doing something wrong do.
- 11:29Speaker 1: You feel like this is happening because you guys are black.
- 11:33Speaker 4: I do i do to a certain extent and also uh.
- 11:40Speaker 3: This talent Not just so much.
- 11:42Speaker 4: Of a color.
- 11:43Speaker 2: They're intimidated by his talent. They want their kid to,
- 11:50Speaker 2: I don't know if their kid is going home to
- 11:53Speaker 2: complain or if it's just more of a parent thing,
- 11:57Speaker 2: thinking like.
- 12:00Speaker 4: They're not doing enough or they're just wasting their money.
- 12:03Speaker 4: You know?
- 12:04Speaker 1: Yeah, I got you.
- 12:05Speaker 2: Your kid is not running around enough or the kid
- 12:07Speaker 2: not kicking the ball enough. So what am I paying
- 12:09Speaker 2: my money for? But I thought everybody was paying money
- 12:13Speaker 2: to play soccer. My fair thing that I did.
- 12:16Speaker 4: For Ina was to not.
- 12:19Speaker 2: Let him play with other three-year-olds because that would be unfair.
- 12:27Speaker 1: And then do you guys plan on taking legal action
- 12:29Speaker 1: at all?
- 12:32Speaker 2: I'm not sure at the moment, but the way that
- 12:35Speaker 2: things are moving, I'm getting a lot of different sides
- 12:40Speaker 2: from different angles.
- 12:41Speaker 4: So it just happened yesterday. Yeah.
- 12:47Speaker 2: Yeah. And they did give us our money back, but
- 12:52Speaker 2: this need to be more aware.
- 12:54Speaker 4: That's what I'm more focused on. Like, just be aware.
- 12:57Speaker 2: Like, if your kid is very talented, let your kid
- 13:00Speaker 2: be talented in any role.
- 13:02Speaker 4: Like, don't stop them. Don't, like, just don't. It's going
- 13:07Speaker 4: to eventually work out.
- 13:11Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm sorry y'all had to deal with that. I
- 13:15Speaker 1: can't even imagine having to talk to a three-year-old child
- 13:17Speaker 1: and make him understand the thinking of, adults in a
- 13:21Speaker 1: situation like that.
- 13:22Speaker 4: Adults in situations. And he's a kid. And he's thinking
- 13:25Speaker 4: that he's just doing the kid thing.
- 13:27Speaker 2: Like.
- 13:27Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 13:28Speaker 4: My son, yeah, he don't know what's going on. He
- 13:31Speaker 4: don't know nothing what's going on. He's all over the world.
- 13:34Speaker 4: Everybody's posting him. He's sitting on the couch watching Spider-Man.
- 13:39Speaker 2: You know? Yeah. So.
- 13:40Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 13:43Speaker 4: It's crazy.
- 13:44Speaker 2: Well.
- 13:46Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I hope you guys, like, find some...
- 13:50Speaker 1: whatever it is that feels like I was going to
- 13:54Speaker 1: say redemption, but I guess it's more of like, I
- 13:57Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, if your baby's okay, I know
- 13:59Speaker 1: that that's what's most important, but I just hope that
- 14:02Speaker 1: there's some resolve in all of this. Um, I know
- 14:05Speaker 1: that it's causing a bigger conversation now though. And I'm
- 14:08Speaker 1: sure you guys have probably seen it. Like, you know,
- 14:10Speaker 1: people are starting to like be more aware to, to
- 14:13Speaker 1: the videos that you guys posted. Um, so yeah, I
- 14:17Speaker 1: just hope that you guys can, can figure that out. Um,
- 14:20Speaker 1: Do you know, was it I-9 that called the police
- 14:24Speaker 1: or one of the parents? Do you know that?
- 14:25Speaker 4: It was the director.
- 14:28Speaker 1: Oh, the director. You said that.
- 14:29Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 14:30Speaker 4: Okay. Yeah. And he was a black man. So that
- 14:36Speaker 4: was disturbing.
- 14:37Speaker 1: What?
- 14:38Speaker 4: That's what most people don't know. And I never said
- 14:43Speaker 4: a color.
- 14:44Speaker 3: People just made it a color day, even though it.
- 14:46Speaker 2: Was more white people there. And he probably was under
- 14:51Speaker 2: a lot of pressure of a lot of white people,
- 14:53Speaker 2: you know, because in that circle that we was having,
- 14:56Speaker 2: it was just I'm black and he's black, you know,
- 14:59Speaker 2: everybody else white. So.
- 15:03Speaker 1: Did you ask him like as a black person and
- 15:06Speaker 1: like as a black, is he a parent as well?
- 15:10Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure he has kids, but I don't know
- 15:13Speaker 2: if he has kids.
- 15:14Speaker 4: I haven't seen any kids of his, you know?
- 15:18Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I'm sorry.
- 15:21Speaker 2: I never asked him as a black person, like, why
- 15:24Speaker 2: would you do that?
- 15:25Speaker 4: Or, like, what is your issue?
- 15:27Speaker 2: But he was the only one with the biggest problem
- 15:31Speaker 2: these five to six weeks. So I have so many
- 15:36Speaker 2: videos of him and things like that.
- 15:39Speaker 4: That's going to be shown.
- 15:40Speaker 2: It's just, I really, it's eye-to-eye of a whole.
- 15:45Speaker 4: I'm holding them as one at this moment.
- 15:49Speaker 1: I'm telling y'all right now, I am not a parent yet,
- 15:51Speaker 1: but there are so many things about this world that
- 15:54Speaker 1: are just off, that I am so nervous about bringing
- 15:59Speaker 1: kids into this world about. Now, you heard Ms. Martasia
- 16:02Speaker 1: Griffin say, you know, yeah, you know, him being Black,
- 16:06Speaker 1: Of course, it's a part of the conversation. You can't
- 16:08Speaker 1: escape that. But him being good is also a part
- 16:11Speaker 1: of the conversation as well, too. As parents, you know,
- 16:14Speaker 1: I know with my mom, she did everything she could
- 16:16Speaker 1: to invest in me to be good at things and
- 16:19Speaker 1: to teach me that I shouldn't shrink myself. I've had
- 16:22Speaker 1: mentors in my life. Shout out to Miss Lori Hayes,
- 16:25Speaker 1: who literally made me memorize Marianne Williamson's Our Deepest Fear.
- 16:30Speaker 1: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our
- 16:31Speaker 1: deepest fear is that we're powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves,
- 16:34Speaker 1: who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually,
- 16:38Speaker 1: who are you not to be? Your playing small does
- 16:41Speaker 1: not serve the world. Literally was the mantra that I
- 16:44Speaker 1: grew up with in my household, that I was blessed
- 16:46Speaker 1: to grow up with outside of my household thanks to mentors.
- 16:49Speaker 1: Imagine being three years old and being taught because police
- 16:52Speaker 1: show up to tell your parents, hey, we got called
- 16:55Speaker 1: because you're disturbing. whether you are live streaming or whether
- 16:58Speaker 1: it's just that your child is so great, imagine that.
- 17:02Speaker 1: And imagine having to talk through that. There will be
- 17:04Speaker 1: more here. We'll keep you guys updated. We will stay
- 17:06Speaker 1: in close contact with the family and see what develops.
- 17:08Speaker 1: This has caused a big conversation online. I'm sure it
- 17:10Speaker 1: may cause a conversation with you guys. So I want
- 17:13Speaker 1: to hear about it. Take it to the streets and
- 17:15Speaker 1: the tweets. At me, I'm Lauren LaRosa, L-O-R-E-N, L-O-R-O-S-A, everywhere.
- 17:21Speaker 1: I want to hear how you feel about this, how
- 17:24Speaker 1: this was handled or mishandled. Not even or. We know
- 17:28Speaker 1: it was mishandled. This has been another episode of The
- 17:30Speaker 1: Latest with Lorna Rosa. I tell y'all every single episode.
- 17:34Speaker 1: You guys could be anywhere with any old body talking
- 17:36Speaker 1: about all of these things, but the fact that you
- 17:38Speaker 1: guys choose to be right here with me, I truly
- 17:40Speaker 1: appreciate y'all, my little riders, and I'll catch you in
- 17:42Speaker 1: my next one.