CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Rogers declared that it was important that athletes continue to stand up for causes they believe in after announcing his retirement.
The first openly gay professional athlete in a major American sport announced the end of his 11-year career on Tuesday. Rogers spent his final five years with the LA Galaxy, winning one MLS Cup title, before nerve damage in his left foot ended his career.
Since Rogers’ announcement in 2013, several players in major American professional leagues came out as openly gay, including former NBA player Jason Collins and one-time NFL linebacker Michael Sam.
For the retired trailblazer, the ability for athletes to stand up for who they are and to speak up for what they believe in is essential.
“When I see things that are so hurtful to people or when people discriminate against others, it’s really hard for me to be silent. When I feel strongly about something, I’m going to share it or talk about it or support it,” Rogers told LA Galaxy Insider. “I think of athletes all the way back to Jesse Owens-- we have a voice, we have a responsibility to shine light on things that are going on in the world that aren’t right.
“I’ve heard people say that they just want politics out of sports, even people who were supporters of me. I thought to myself, ‘do you not understand that I’m a gay man in sports and if I was to ‘keep politics out of sports’ then I wouldn’t be who I am.’ I also wouldn’t be receiving letters from kids every week saying that I saved their lives or saying that they’ve just decided to come out to their parents in Kansas City and they support me.
“We’re not just the athlete, the writer, or the lawyer, we are very complex people, and having convictions in our beliefs is important.”
As his career comes to a close, Rogers remains hopeful that his story will motivate others to come out, and will help gay athletes to feel more accepted in sports across the globe. But according to Rogers, regardless of whether that happens today or in the future, the 30-year-old continues to defend what he believes is right.
“It seems like people are more willing or more motivated to say crazy, dumb things. I was out for three years of Obama’s presidency, and we didn’t have any soccer players come out either. We did have Jason [Collins] and Michael [Sam], but it’s hard for me to say,” Rogers said. “I would say that I am fearful of a climate where we take to Twitter and be awful to each other. That saddens me. The amount of bigotry and anger toward each other is really sad.
“I think we need our role models more than ever. Guys like Colin Kaepernick who are standing against discrimination and injustice. It calls upon people with real courage to find their voices. For me, it took the inspiration of tons of kids to find that voice. It’s scary and it’s tough, but I still want to believe through this experience that people are good and want to love. That’s one of the main lessons that I learned in my coming out experience that people want to love and support you.
“I’m going to remain hopeful that the landscape [for gay athletes] will change even if not anytime soon. The landscape will change -- the landscape of sports, the landscape of the United States, and the world. I still think that people are good deep down and we’ll find our way through this.”
