Robbie Rogers

[PompeyVillan]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2013/05/27/sp-mls-soccer-los-angeles-galaxy-robbie-rogers.html

 

 

Robbie Rogers is back where he feels he belongs and is most comfortable. On a soccer field playing the game he's loved since he was a boy. Now that he has revealed the long kept secret that he is gay, he's ready to move on and put the focus on resuming his career.

Rogers made history on Sunday night when he became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a U.S. professional league, making his Major League Soccer debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"I guess this is a historic thing, but for me it was just a soccer game," he said.

The team made it easy on the 26-year-old midfielder by building a 4-0 lead over the Seattle Sounders by the time he entered as a substitute in the 77th minute.

"No pressure at all coming in," Rogers said. "I got to totally enjoy myself and take it all in."

He received loud cheers from the crowd of 24,811 as he ran onto the pitch, with fans chanting his last name. Rogers' family, including his grandparents, and friends were in the stands.

He ran by teammate Landon Donovan, who slapped his hand and patted him on the back as he took his position.

"Because of the nature of the way sports has been for so many years — the macho culture that's been embraced by everybody — it's of interest to everybody," Donovan said. "Now hopefully, the hype about it is over and he can get back to being a soccer player, which is what he wants to do."

Rogers had five touches, one tackle and three completed passes in the game's final 13 minutes. He hadn't played professionally since last year. He spent the last two seasons in England.

Rogers retired from the sport in February, when he revealed in a post on his blog that he is gay. He has been training with the Galaxy since April at the invitation of coach Bruce Arena.

"I'm back here kind of where I'm supposed to be," he said, nattily attired in a blue suit with a white shirt buttoned to the neck and gold tie bar befitting his interest in fashion.

"It's crazy to me to think I stepped away from this game at 25," he said. "I'll sit in my bed tonight and thank God gave me the courage to do this and come back."

Rogers' signing on Saturday was so recent that he wasn't listed in the game day program, which featured a picture of Mike Magee in the centerfold. Magee, the Galaxy's leading scorer and a fan favorite, was traded to his hometown Chicago Fire, which held Rogers' MLS rights.

"In a lot of ways, the easy part is over," Arena said. "Now the difficult part remains, which is getting him positioned to play. Our expectations for Robbie are not anything big in the near future. Hopefully, he'll get back to the way we think he can be."

Rogers has the support of his teammates, who understand how much he wants to regain the form that once earned him a spot on the U.S. national team.

"I'm sure he's delighted to get that off his back," said Galaxy captain Robbie Keane, who had his first career three-goal game in MLS. "It's time for him to concentrate on just being part of this team."

Seattle coach Sigi Schmid, who once coached the Galaxy, sought out Rogers for a supportive pre-game hug. The two men have known each other since Rogers was 7.

"When he came out and said he was going to retire from playing, I sent him a text and said, `Don't retire from playing because you came out. If you want to play, you should play. You'll be accepted,"' Schmid said.

But it took time for Rogers to decide he wanted to accept Arena's offer to train with the Galaxy. Eventually, he knew he wanted to resume his career with the team located not far from his hometown of Huntington Beach.

Arena cautioned that Rogers needs time to regain his fitness and skill level.

"As a player, he can't be judged tonight or the next couple weeks," the coach said. "It's way too early. He's got a way to go. We'll be patient with him."

Nerves began getting the best of Rogers in the hours before he left home for the stadium. Not because he was worried about the prospect of being the first openly gay male athlete to play, but because his soccer skills were rusty.

"I was like, 'Oh gosh,"' he said.

He called his sister for reassurance.

"I just needed to hear someone's voice," Rogers said. "We were talking about my dog. Just get my mind off things."

Schmid believes that in time Rogers' sexuality won't be a story anymore.

"It doesn't matter if you have a gay player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Jewish player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Baptist on your team," he said. "I think we're becoming more cognizant that it takes all sorts of people to make this world go round, and we're a lot more accepting of that."

Rogers isn't sure what awaits him as the Galaxy heads out on a five-game road trip and he is held up as a role model.

"This is a learning process for me," he said. "I would ask these people to remember I'm human, as well. I'll try to be a good person through this whole process."

 

 

 

Amazing that it has taken so long for a footballer who has played in the UK to be open about being homomsexual. Really, we know there are surely plenty of gay footballers, and that they're scared that British fans will not accept them.

[Czechlad]

He got such a great ovation when he came on the pitch. LA fans were very disappointed they had to give up their top goal scorer Mike Magee for him but I am glad the fans embraced Rogers. I personally don't care at all what a player does off the pitch as long as he performs on the pitch. It is his life, let him live it. 

[Rodders]

good for him. Also feel he probably got a better reception there than he would have done here sadly. 

[Zatman]

I thought he retired few months ago. But credit to LA Galaxy as well as Im sure some clubs probably didnt want to take him on as would have came wiht a bit of media baggage 

[Condimentalist]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2013/05/27/sp-mls-soccer-los-angeles-galaxy-robbie-rogers.html

 

 

Robbie Rogers is back where he feels he belongs and is most comfortable. On a soccer field playing the game he's loved since he was a boy. Now that he has revealed the long kept secret that he is gay, he's ready to move on and put the focus on resuming his career.

Rogers made history on Sunday night when he became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a U.S. professional league, making his Major League Soccer debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"I guess this is a historic thing, but for me it was just a soccer game," he said.

The team made it easy on the 26-year-old midfielder by building a 4-0 lead over the Seattle Sounders by the time he entered as a substitute in the 77th minute.

"No pressure at all coming in," Rogers said. "I got to totally enjoy myself and take it all in."

He received loud cheers from the crowd of 24,811 as he ran onto the pitch, with fans chanting his last name. Rogers' family, including his grandparents, and friends were in the stands.

He ran by teammate Landon Donovan, who slapped his hand and patted him on the back as he took his position.

"Because of the nature of the way sports has been for so many years — the macho culture that's been embraced by everybody — it's of interest to everybody," Donovan said. "Now hopefully, the hype about it is over and he can get back to being a soccer player, which is what he wants to do."

Rogers had five touches, one tackle and three completed passes in the game's final 13 minutes. He hadn't played professionally since last year. He spent the last two seasons in England.

Rogers retired from the sport in February, when he revealed in a post on his blog that he is gay. He has been training with the Galaxy since April at the invitation of coach Bruce Arena.

"I'm back here kind of where I'm supposed to be," he said, nattily attired in a blue suit with a white shirt buttoned to the neck and gold tie bar befitting his interest in fashion.

"It's crazy to me to think I stepped away from this game at 25," he said. "I'll sit in my bed tonight and thank God gave me the courage to do this and come back."

Rogers' signing on Saturday was so recent that he wasn't listed in the game day program, which featured a picture of Mike Magee in the centerfold. Magee, the Galaxy's leading scorer and a fan favorite, was traded to his hometown Chicago Fire, which held Rogers' MLS rights.

"In a lot of ways, the easy part is over," Arena said. "Now the difficult part remains, which is getting him positioned to play. Our expectations for Robbie are not anything big in the near future. Hopefully, he'll get back to the way we think he can be."

Rogers has the support of his teammates, who understand how much he wants to regain the form that once earned him a spot on the U.S. national team.

"I'm sure he's delighted to get that off his back," said Galaxy captain Robbie Keane, who had his first career three-goal game in MLS. "It's time for him to concentrate on just being part of this team."

Seattle coach Sigi Schmid, who once coached the Galaxy, sought out Rogers for a supportive pre-game hug. The two men have known each other since Rogers was 7.

"When he came out and said he was going to retire from playing, I sent him a text and said, `Don't retire from playing because you came out. If you want to play, you should play. You'll be accepted,"' Schmid said.

But it took time for Rogers to decide he wanted to accept Arena's offer to train with the Galaxy. Eventually, he knew he wanted to resume his career with the team located not far from his hometown of Huntington Beach.

Arena cautioned that Rogers needs time to regain his fitness and skill level.

"As a player, he can't be judged tonight or the next couple weeks," the coach said. "It's way too early. He's got a way to go. We'll be patient with him."

Nerves began getting the best of Rogers in the hours before he left home for the stadium. Not because he was worried about the prospect of being the first openly gay male athlete to play, but because his soccer skills were rusty.

"I was like, 'Oh gosh,"' he said.

He called his sister for reassurance.

"I just needed to hear someone's voice," Rogers said. "We were talking about my dog. Just get my mind off things."

Schmid believes that in time Rogers' sexuality won't be a story anymore.

"It doesn't matter if you have a gay player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Jewish player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Baptist on your team," he said. "I think we're becoming more cognizant that it takes all sorts of people to make this world go round, and we're a lot more accepting of that."

Rogers isn't sure what awaits him as the Galaxy heads out on a five-game road trip and he is held up as a role model.

"This is a learning process for me," he said. "I would ask these people to remember I'm human, as well. I'll try to be a good person through this whole process."

 

 

 

Amazing that it has taken so long for a footballer who has played in the UK to be open about being homomsexual. Really, we know there are surely plenty of gay footballers, and that they're scared that British fans will not accept them.

 

Rightly so IMO. There's a significant minority of British football fans who are just total scumbags and it only needs them to be heard.

[Stevo985]

As I've said in another thread on here, I agreed with Lindegaard when he said that homophobia in football isn't going to be "stamped out" until there are openly gay players. They need a "gay hero".

 

All the homophobic abuse that exists today is aimed towards players who aren't (as far as we know) gay. So there isn't actually any targeted homophobic abuse in the game at the moment.

 

That's not to say there wouldn't be any if someone came out. There certainly WOULD be. But until the subject of the abuse exists, there's no way it can eradicated.

 

In much the same way as if, somehow, black players hadn't been introduced to the game right up until the present day. There wouldn't be any racist abuse, but there absolutely would be a racism problem bubbling under the surface. And it would only be when black players start emerging next season (for arguments sake) that the real racist abuse would start and can actually be tackled.

[mjmooney]

"I got to totally enjoy myself and take it all in."

 

[maqroll]

How droll.

[mjmooney]

Forget it Jake, it's VT.

 

 

[GarethRDR]

I agreed with Lindegaard when he said that homophobia in football isn't going to be "stamped out" until there are openly gay players. They need a "gay hero".

Was that the article where Lindegaard was championing the cause whilst simultaneously mentioning that he had a girlfriend every second sentence?

[tonyh29]

As I've said in another thread on here, I agreed with Lindegaard when he said that homophobia in football isn't going to be "stamped out" until there are openly gay players. They need a "gay hero".

 

All the homophobic abuse that exists today is aimed towards players who aren't (as far as we know) gay. So there isn't actually any targeted homophobic abuse in the game at the moment.

 

That's not to say there wouldn't be any if someone came out. There certainly WOULD be. But until the subject of the abuse exists, there's no way it can eradicated.

 

In much the same way as if, somehow, black players hadn't been introduced to the game right up until the present day. There wouldn't be any racist abuse, but there absolutely would be a racism problem bubbling under the surface. And it would only be when black players start emerging next season (for arguments sake) that the real racist abuse would start and can actually be tackled.

 

 

As I understand it one of the current Villa Squad is homosexual , I don't know how much of a secret it is , he clearly hasn't felt the need to shout it from the roof tops  but I don't think any gay player would receive much abuse in this country if they did come out ... just the few idiots but you'd get them no matter what

 

Probably best we don't turn this thread into an "outing " speculation thread  either

[PompeyVillan]

It really doesn't matter to me, but I think the first to come out in the UK will have to be thick skinned, but I think they'll accepted by most people and targeted by some.

 

I think, they'd be some light hearted banter about it, which would help to break the taboo and some nasty abuse, but you never really know until it happens. 

 

We can, at the very least rule out Gabby Agbonlahor out of the 'outing' speculation, he's got more kids than Genghis Khan. 

[Stevo985]

 

As I've said in another thread on here, I agreed with Lindegaard when he said that homophobia in football isn't going to be "stamped out" until there are openly gay players. They need a "gay hero".

 

All the homophobic abuse that exists today is aimed towards players who aren't (as far as we know) gay. So there isn't actually any targeted homophobic abuse in the game at the moment.

 

That's not to say there wouldn't be any if someone came out. There certainly WOULD be. But until the subject of the abuse exists, there's no way it can eradicated.

 

In much the same way as if, somehow, black players hadn't been introduced to the game right up until the present day. There wouldn't be any racist abuse, but there absolutely would be a racism problem bubbling under the surface. And it would only be when black players start emerging next season (for arguments sake) that the real racist abuse would start and can actually be tackled.

 

 

As I understand it one of the current Villa Squad is homosexual , I don't know how much of a secret it is , he clearly hasn't felt the need to shout it from the roof tops  but I don't think any gay player would receive much abuse in this country if they did come out ... just the few idiots but you'd get them no matter what

 

Probably best we don't turn this thread into an "outing " speculation thread  either

 

See I think they would get some abuse if they came out.

 

But this is kind of my point, you don't really know until it happens. We can't stamp out homophobic abuse because it doesn't really exist. Yet.

[Nigel]

OK Ill say it then.......Sounds like a name of a gay bloke from any 70s sit com!

Edited May 29, 2013 by Nigel