Robbie Rogers announces he's gay; quits football

I cannot get his official statement to load on me computer right now. He posted it on his own website and twitter. He's a former USA Mens National team player. Played in England for the past bit as well.

Good lad and much respect to him. I only hope he didn't retire for any other reason beside he wanted to. I hope it was not in fear of abuse.

Cheers Robbie 

I know Rogers had a pretty bad record as far as injuries goes, so I hope that's why he is retiring.  I think he was at Leeds most recently.

That's what he posted on his blog...

The Next Chapter…

Things are never what they seem… My whole life I have felt different, different from my peers, even different from my family. In today’s society being different makes you brave.  To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith in your purpose.

For the past 25 year I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.   Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret.  Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams.

Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud.  What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?

Life is only complete when your loved ones know you.  When they know your true feelings, when they know who and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone.  Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.

Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple.   Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.

I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates.  I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret. 

Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football.  It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.  Honesty is a bi*ch but makes life so simple and clear.  My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended. 

Nice one, Robbie. The guy should be proud of his courage. Saw Holden offering him support on twitter, and the overall reaction has been positive, which is good to see. Shame he's leaving the sport though.

Thank you for posting it, it would not work for me for a little bit Diego.

I've never come across Robbie personally but I know Holden speaks highly of the lad as we exchanged texts over it. It's a real shame he's leaving the sport but it sounds like maybe he is just stepping away to focus on his life and maybe return.

Decent player too so not like he wouldn't have a chance to play somewhere.

Rogers could come back to MLS for Chicago if he wanted to. They acquired his rights from Columbus last month. (Silly MLS transfer system)

There are certainly more footballers like Robbie. Proud of his courage to come out. My only hope is that his retirement isn't for that reason, because that would be a real shame.

In this day and age who the F**k cares if a football player is gay or not .
I wouldn't give a toss if Liverpool had gay players,I mean come on its 2013 ffs.
Very brave of the lad to come out.

In this day and age who the f**k cares if a football player is gay or not .
I wouldn't give a toss if Liverpool had gay players,I mean come on its 2013 ffs.
Very brave of the lad to come out.

100% agree with you mate but sadly a lot of people think differently.

It is a sad state of affairs that a footballer feels that they will be lambasted in the game of football for being gay, thus retiring after announcing it. Fair play to the lad and I wish him the best of luck. Shame that it appears it won't be in football.