MEXICO CITY (AP) — Soccer player Aaliyah Farmer requested to be released from her club Tigres in Mexico’s main women’s soccer league after staying there for just a year, after pointing out that she was a victim of harassment in the country, the team’s coach Pedro Losa said Wednesday.
Losa did not provide details about the type of harassment Farmer said he faced. The 22-year-old was born in California but has Mexican ancestry and plays for the Mexican national team.
She was released earlier this week and signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Stars in the National Women’s Soccer League.
“Within her process there was a red line. She did not feel safe in the harassment situations that occurred and she let us know,” Losa explained in a press conference. “As a club, our obligation was to support her.”
Farmer is the latest American-born player to leave Liga MX Femenil after saying she suffered some form of harassment. In October 2024, Lucía Yáñez stopped playing for Puebla and decided to return to Los Angeles, where she was born.
Yáñez, who now plays for FAS in El Salvador, said stones were thrown at her house and she was harassed during matches.
Scarlett Camberos left Mexico in 2023 and signed with Angel City of Los Angeles after experiencing online harassment for more than a year. He returned to the Mexican league a year later and has been playing for Club América.
Non-American women in the league have also reported harassment.
“I want to raise my voice. Every day there are players and women in society who feel this way, both on social networks and in other areas,” said Losa. “No woman should feel intimidated, abused or harassed”
Farmer, who played four seasons at Southern California and won a Big Ten title in 2024, began his professional career in 2025 with the Tigers. He played 24 games, 20 as a starter, and won the Apertura tournament championship in December. He debuted with the Mexican national team in May 2025 and has played eight games.
_____
AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
