Young Boy In Tears After Soccer Opponent Calls Him An 'Illegal Immigrant' In Heartbreaking Video

On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, mother of two Mtee Tet posted a video on her Facebook page. The video was of her young son Max.

As Tet would explain in a follow-up post, Max had just completed a two-month-long youth soccer tournament and won first place. But rather than celebrating, Max was upset.

Tet captioned her video:

"All I’m asking is that be nice to one another and treat each others with kindness. I am angry, hurt and honestly speechless!"

You can see her post here:

During the video, Max reveals the competing goaltender told him he was an "illegal immigrant," after which Max shares that he was born in the United States.

The goalkeeper added that President Trump was going to get Max and "send him back" to where he's from.

Tet's post went on to garner almost 3k comments, over 11k shares on Facebook, and over 1 million views. From Facebook, her video was shared by others to X, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and Reddit.

In her follow-up Facebook post, Tet shared:

"I’m truly grateful to everyone who has reached out and showed your support. The facility where this occurred is currently conducting an investigation."

"I shared vlogs on Facebook, and my intention in posting the video was never to create controversy, but rather to serve as a reminder of how deeply our words and actions can affect one another, especially our children."

Tet then added some more context for her video.

"My son (Max) had just completed and won a two-month-long tournament, yet instead of celebrating that accomplishment, he was left carrying the weight of what was said to him and dealing with hurt that no child should experience."

Tet concluded:

"My hope is that this moment encourages reflection and compassion. The division and hate we see in our country are clearly reaching our children, and that is heartbreaking. We all need to do better. Kindness matters, and it starts with how we treat one another—especially for the sake of our kids."

Mtee Tet/Facebook

People condemned the racism directed at Max, and offered their support.

@mindspark22/Threads

@nature_lg/Instagram

‪@rotterdamvvg/Bluesky

Reports indicate a significant rise in racism, hate incidents, and discriminatory attitudes in the United States since 2016, characterized as a "relentless and pervasive" increase in hostile acts. Data from the FBI shows a spike in hate crimes aimed at BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community since 2016.

Anti-Black hate crimes increased 81%, attacks on Asians spiked 73%, antisemitic attacks increased 212%, and anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes more than doubled since 2015.

The white supremacist, Christian nationalist propaganda and rhetoric being shared by MAGA Republican President Donald Trump and his MAGA minions has been cited as a major contributor.

Incidents of hate speech in sports from youth to collegiate levels has also increased, with kids parroting their parents and the president.

In 2024, a youth soccer league in Utah was forced to adopt new policies after a season filled with racist incidents.