Robbie Rogers

Twenty-six year old Robbie Rogers just became the second* openly gay active athlete in U.S. men's professional team sports. He ended his retirement yesterday to join the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). Rogers declared that he was gay three months ago, upon announcing his retirement from the sport. More alert readers will recall that the LA Galaxy was David Beckham’s home for six years until his departure last December.

*the first was NBA center Jason Collins (Washington Wizards, now a free agent without a contract to play next season).

Rogers wrote on his website how difficult it was to keep his sexuality hidden:

“For the past 25 years 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...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. I always thought I could hide this secret. [Soccer] was my escape, my purpose, my identity. [Soccer] hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined."

Robbie Rogers is an accomplished international soccer player now in his prime. He wants to play for the American team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but the only way that can happen is if he excels with the Galaxy. Robbie also hopes to use soccer as a platform for tolerance and acceptance, leading more gay athletes to come out.

Rogers says his epiphany came after speaking to an LGBT youth group in Portland: "I seriously felt like a coward. 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 not to  step up to the plate?" Now, just days after his 26th birthday, he's back in the game.

The Southern California native attended the University of Maryland and represented the U.S. at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He then played for the Columbus Crew, where he engaged in four productive seasons. Rogers won an MLS Cup in 2008, two Supporters Shield titles and a spot on the 2008 MLS Best 11. He has also played British-based soccer for Leeds United and Stevenage.

UPDATE:
May 27.2013: Soccer midfielder Robbie Rogers made his LA Galaxy last night (Sunday) night against the Seattle Sounders. He entered the game to a rousing ovation in the 77th minute, becoming the first openly gay male athlete to play in an American professional team sport. Galaxy chalked up a 4-0 rout. The 26-year-old Huntington Beach, CA, native had five touches, one tackle and three completed passes in the final 13 minutes.

Said teammate Robbie Keane, "It was great to see Robbie [Rogers] get that kind of reception from the fans, and now he can concentrate on being a Galaxy player."

Although the ink was barely dry on his contract (Rogers had signed a scant 24 hours before yesterday’s game), Robbie had been practicing with the team for several weeks.

Video excerpt from an interview with Anderson Cooper (April 15):

Anton Hysén

Anton Hysén looks every inch the modern soccer player. The 20-year-old Swede has his initials tattooed behind one ear and his parents' names on each forearm. On his left arm, in particularly elaborate lettering, is: "UNWA". This is Hysén's tribute to Liverpool, his birthplace, and the anthem of his favorite club – You'll Never Walk Alone.

In March of this year the left-sided midfielder came out as Sweden's first openly gay male soccer player. He is only the second high-level player to come out in the world, ever. The first, Justin Fashanu, revealed he was gay in 1990, found himself shunned by the sports world and hanged himself eight years later.

A generation on, when gay men and women play prominent roles in every other kind of entertainment, it appears somewhat anachronistic that world soccer has no openly gay players – apart from Hysén. Although, as he points out, he currently plays in the fourth tier of Swedish soccer, working in the local Volvo factory to support himself, Hysén's honesty about his sexuality is a big deal. His family is a soccer playing dynasty in Sweden; Hysén's older brother, Tobias, is a Swedish international; their father, Glenn, was a tough defender who remains a celebrity in Sweden. Perhaps most significantly, Hysén, like the English cricketer Steven Davies (see post on October 19), who came out in February 2011, made his declaration at the start of his career.

A bouncy, articulate athlete who speaks excellent English with an American twang picked up during a year at college there, Hysén is at ease with his decision, but he says he has no time for gay stereotypes. As he politely puts it: "I'm not a big Pride person. There's nothing wrong with Pride, but it's just not my thing."

Injuries stalled his development as a player with the Swedish premier-league club Häcken, and now Hysén is rebuilding his career at Utsiktens, where his father became coach last year. Hysén did not court the flurry of global publicity that came with his revelation. During a sports magazine interview, Glenn casually mentioned his son's sexuality; the journalist then politely approached Hysén to see if he wanted to come out. Hysén thought he might as well and, with typical frankness, told Offside magazine: "It is completely strange, isn't it? It's all fucked up. Where the hell are all the others? No one is coming out."

So far, reaction has been the polar opposite to that surrounding Fashanu, except for one offensive letter from a fan. "Everyone has been very positive. I was on the train last weekend and this girl said: 'You've made the world a better place, thank you for being there for everyone,' and I haven't done anything," Hysén smiles. "But when you think about it, you kinda have. Obviously I haven't been playing in the top league but I'm still going for it, and I'm still the only active player who has come out, so of course it's huge."

Locker room banter is notoriously homophobic, but Hysén insists he is totally comfortable at Utsiktens. "Everyone is positive. Everyone," he says of his teammates. It may help that nine of the team are under 22 years old. "Who cares about a gay joke? I do it too. I joke about myself."