Former U.S. national team power bottom Robbie Rogers has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, making him the first active openly gay male athlete to compete in an American professional team sport.
Speaking to USA Today, which broke the news, Rogers said he first began considering a return last month after talking to a group of about 500 children at the Nike Be True LGBT Youth Forum in Portland, Ore.
"I seriously felt like a coward," he told the newspaper. "These kids are standing up for themselves and changing the world, and I'm 25, I have a platform and a voice to be a role model. How much of a coward was I to not step up to the plate?"
Rogers told The Associated Press his fears about returning to soccer were eased by the support he received from family, fans and players, including Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Rogers wrote on his blog in February that he was retiring from soccer and that he is gay. One month before coming out, Rogers had left Leeds United by mutual consent after spending more than a year in England, later saying he had been afraid of revealing his sexual orientation.
"Secrets can cause so much internal damage," Rogers wrote then on his website. "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." Rogers, who received support from several of his former U.S. teammates after announcing he is gay, had joined the Galaxy for training earlier this month.
"To be honest, I had no plans of going back to football at all and definitely not this soon," Rogers told ESPN Radio in Dallas (103.3 FM) in May. "But I was looking over some video clips that MLS sent to I think it was CNN or ABC of me just training, fooling around and just enjoying football. ... And it kind of just like [made him say], 'Oh my gosh, I miss this stuff.'
"I just need a bit more time to evaluate and to see how things play out, but I've really enjoyed myself [in Galaxy training]. It feels normal to be back. I've grown up playing soccer my whole life. I've always been on a soccer field, so I feel at home on a soccer field."
Rogers' return comes less than a month after 12-year NBA veteran Jason Collins announced he is gay, becoming the first active male athlete to come out. Collins, however, has not competed since the announcement. He is a free agent.
The Galaxy issued a statement Friday night, saying they would introduce "the club's newest player" at a news conference Saturday, without naming Rogers.
To get him, they had to trade veteran forward Mike Magee, their leading scorer this season with six goals, to the Chicago Fire, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Rogers' MLS rights were held by the Fire after they acquired them in a Feb. 4 trade with the Columbus Crew, who won the MLS Cup in 2008 with Rogers' help. But Rogers had said he was determined to play close to home if he decided to resume his career.
"I don't want to go to Chicago," Rogers, who grew up in Huntington Beach, Calif., told ESPN Radio in May. "I think if it comes down to you can only play in Chicago, then I probably won't go back. I need to do it somewhere where I'm totally 100 percent comfortable so ... I would most likely do it closest to my family. … I'm not closing the backdoor or saying no to anyone else that I've talked to but ... that would be my priority."
The Fire had formally granted Rogers permission to train with the Galaxy but had indicated they hoped to keep the former U.S. international, who has been capped 18 times and scored against Mexico in 2012 in Jurgen Klinsmann's first match in charge of the U.S. national team.
Rogers told USA Today Sports that he is aiming to make the U.S. team for the 2014 World Cup.
"I want to get past the point where I was before," he told USA Today Sports. "I want to get back to the national team. I was so close to making the World Cup in 2010, I want to be there for the next one."
Rogers, who turned 26 on Sunday, also hopes to be a role model for gay teens while playing.
"I want to come back and be that voice, be that role model," Rogers told USA Today Sports. "I want to compete on the field. I want to make it back to the national team. I want to be a role model. I have a lot of motivating factors working for me right now."
"There's a lot to be excited about. It's awesome to be part of a movement that is changing our society."
The Galaxy host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night (ESPN2).
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I'm waiting for the first straight soccer player to come out.
