A few weeks ago, we had the news of Jason Collins' coming out as the first openly gay "active" player. Collins is a free agent and his future is still unsure. One of the stories that has not received as much media attention is that of Robbie Rogers. Rogers is a professional soccer player who had a brief stint in English football and has been a part of the national soccer team for the United States. In February, Rogers announced his retirement from soccer at the age of 25; this announcement followed by another one which went almost unnoticed by the American press: Robbie Rogers was gay.
As opposed to Collins, Rogers is in the prime of his career. He had a valid contract with an English team and was highly sough after many American teams. At only 25 years of age, he had a good opportunity to fight for a spot on the U.S. squad that may compete in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Of course Rogers had no front page cover. There were no reporters or tweets. He simply wanted to discover himself away from football.
Things quickly changed when Jason Collins announced his news. Twenty four hours later, he received a call from Robbie Rogers congratulating him for being honest. Rogers called him on his way to train with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena had an open invitation for him to train with the team and Rogers finally accepted it. Rogers has now been training for a few weeks with the Galaxy in hopes of resolving his contractual situation as his playing rights belong to the Chicago Fire. Rogers has openly stated that he wishes to stay in the Los Angeles area to stay near his family and be comfortable. Galaxy staff and players are welcoming to the idea of having Rogers on the squad and have not mentioned any "locker room problems."
Negotiations are still in full swing, but an agreement between the Galaxy and Chicago seems likely. If that were to happen, Robbie Rogers would become the first openly gay player to participate in any major North American sports league; something that might not have happened if Collins had not announced his news.
Greg Loza
KIN 577
This is really interesting Greg. Thanks for the insight. I agree with your analysis that while Robbie Rogers' participation might not have occurred if Collins hadn't started the conversation. Although, our con argument emphasized that Collins was not the huge catalyst everyone has been waiting for, he is indeed, very brave and certainly has a historical role in the open integration of LGBT athletes in America.
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