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Viral video shows Long Island cop school kids in soccer while wearing full uniform

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Cite

Cruz, B. (2026, October 5). Viral video shows Long Island cop school kids in soccer while wearing full uniform. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/05/us-news/viral-video-shows-long-island-cop-school-kids-in-soccer-while-wearing-full-uniform/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-05 · by Brandon Cruz

Quick Summary

Suffolk County Police Officer Kevin Martinez went viral after a video showed him surprising a group of teenagers playing soccer at SSG James D. McNaughton Memorial Park in Centereach, Long Island, by joining them despite being fully dressed in his uniform. Initially, the teens thought he was there to stop their game; instead, Martinez, a former Division II soccer star, impressed them with his skills and challenged two of them to one-on-one matches. The video has garnered over a million likes on Instagram, showcasing positive community engagement by law enforcement.
Written by AI on 2026-10-05, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Suffolk County Police Officer Kevin Martinez went viral after a video showed him joining a group of teens playing soccer at SSG James D. McNaughton Memorial Park in Centereach, Long Island, around 8 p.m. on Thursday. Initially, the teens thought they would be told to leave since it was late, but Martinez, a former Division II soccer player for the New York Institute of Technology, instead challenged them to a game. The video captures him demonstrating his skills, including making one teen fall with an ankle-breaker and nutmegging the goalie. Initially unsure if the cop would get out of his car, the teens were surprised and excited when Martinez joined their match.

Written for “Cop Teaches Soccer To Students” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Cop Teaches Soccer To Students
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-05 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15921 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brandon Cruz
37 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 After his stroke last year, some thought he would begin to take a step back from his duties — but instead, he kept pushing forward for the children that serve as his inspiration.
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Also by Brandon Cruz
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 37 articles by Brandon Cruz →

Topics

Centereach Division II Long Island Suffolk County The Post

Subjects

Martinez PERSON · 7× Suffolk County GPE · 2× Bay Shore High School ORG · 1× Centereach GPE · 1× Instagram ORG · 1× Kevin Martinez PERSON · 1× Long Island GPE · 1× The Post ORG · 1× the New York Institute of Technology ORG · 1×

Narrative

Suffolk County Police Officer Kevin Martinez told The Post he was on patrol at around 8 p.m. Thursday when he spotted a group of teens playing “the beautiful game” at SSG James D. McNaughton Memorial Park in Centereach and couldn’t resist the competitive urge to jump in and lay down the law.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-05
🔮 Suffolk County Police Officer Kevin Martinez told The Post he was on patrol at around 8 p.m. Thursday when he spotted a group of teens playing “the beautiful game” at SSG James D. McNaughton Memorial Park in Centereach and couldn’t resist the competitive urge to jump in and lay down the law.

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

A new viral video shows a uniformed Long Island cop approach a group of soccer-playing kids who think they’re about to get get kicked out — before he shows them some moves instead. asserted
he → show → moves
Suffolk County Police Officer Kevin Martinez told The Post he was on patrol at around 8 p.m. Thursday when he spotted a group of teens playing “the beautiful game” at SSG James D. McNaughton Memorial Park in Centereach and couldn’t resist the competitive urge to jump in and lay down the law. asserted
he → tell → law
Martinez, a former standout Division II soccer star for the New York Institute of Technology, can be seen quickly overwhelming the teens with elite dribbling skills, making one fall with a swift ankle-breaker before nutmegging the goalie to score in another clip. asserted
one → see → clip
“Say I won’t get out of the car right now and score,” Martinez told his partner, who he said then dared him to walk up and challenge the teens to play. asserted
he → say → teens
“You can tell at first they thought they were getting kicked out,” Martinez said in an interview on Monday. asserted
Martinez → tell → Monday
“Then I asked them, ‘who wants to 1v1,’ and their reaction was priceless, I just remember them getting super excited,” he said. asserted
he → ask → them
Two of the boys immediately accepted the challenge, thinking the cop would be an easy win — but little did they know they were facing a former college superstar who once led all of Suffolk County in goals scored as a senior at Bay Shore High School. asserted
who → accept → School
The now-viral video, which has over a million likes on Instagram, then shows the moment the teens realized the cop was coming ready to play. asserted
cop → have → moment
“At first they didn’t think I had skills, [but] once they saw me dribble they were in awe,” Martinez said. asserted
Martinez → think → awe
“They were shocked and screamed when I passed both of them,” he said. asserted
he → shock → them
Although Martinez cooked them both, he did give the boys credit, and said one of the kids got him back and scored against him. asserted
one → cook → him
The officer was playing with an extra 25-30 pounds with all of his police equipment on him. asserted
all → play → him
Martinez, who was once that kid practicing on the soccer field, said he never expected for the interaction to go viral, but is glad it did, so it can highlight the importance of the police engaging in positive interactions with the communities they’re meant to serve. asserted
they → practice → communities
“When I first joined, my goal was — and still is — to change the perception some people may have of police officers,” Martinez said. uncertain
Martinez → join → officers
“I strive to have positive interactions that can change someone’s perspective and show them that officers are approachable and genuinely care about the community,” he added. asserted
he → strive → community
“Those interactions can have a domino effect, strengthening community relationships and ultimately helping build the trust necessary to prevent and solve crimes,” he said. asserted
he → have → crimes
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