Robbie Rogers retired from soccer and declared he was gay in a moving blog that brought a great number of people in the sports world out to support the former U.S. national team player.
Rogers, who's 25, wanted to start a new chapter in his life, as he titles his blog. Being a soccer player and being gay were two tough to balance out simultaneously. So for Rogers, living his life became more important.
"Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined," Rogers wrote in his blog entry where he shared his secret with the world. "I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest," said Rogers towards the end of his post.
Rogers joins a couple of soccer players who in the past have shared their private lives publicly. In 2011, David Testo did it and has not been a part of a pro team since and in U.S. Women's soccer, national team Megan Rapinoe became the first female athlete of the sport to come out.
Athletes from around the world and the sport reached out in support of their fellow sportsman. Hercules Gomez, Abby Wambach, Juan Agudelo, Omar Gonzalez and Eddy Pope were among the stars who gave Rogers the support he needed immediately after the blog post was published.
For now, Rogers has decided to step away from the game. He will learn about himself and find out what his plans are now that he no longer has to live in a secret and lie to his loved ones.
"My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended."
