Last Friday -now-ex- professional soccer player Robbie H Rogers Came Out publicly through a link from his twitter account to his website with his statement entitled ‘The Next Chapter…’
You can read his statement in full after the jump, plus a couple of shots taken last summer for Bello Mag’s Summer Fashion Issue.
OK, now that you’re Out and you’ve quit, when can we pencil you in for your naked gay mag centre-fold Miss Rogers? Does next Thursday sound good? 3pm? Super…see you then…ok…Thursday…good!
The Next Chapter…
Things are never what they seem… My whole life I have felt different, different from my peers, even different from my family. In today’s society being different makes you brave. To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith in your purpose.
For the past 25 year 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.
Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud. What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?
Life is only complete when your loved ones know you. When they know your true feelings, when they know who and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone. Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.
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. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.
I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates. I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.
Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football. It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest. Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.
[via ohlala]
We, does anyone else think Beyonce is overrated?
It all starts with one brave person. Over the past few months we’ve seen a groundswell of American football players speaking up for gay rights, and even more athletes coming to the defense of those who raised their voices (e.g. Chris Kluwe). What we need now, is a groundswell of European and American soccer players, both active and retired, to stand in support of Mr. Roberts for finally having the fortitude to speak up and speak out. The issue of gay rights becomes all the more real when it hits close to home, or when we can put a name and a face with cause.
I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness that this wasn’t done WHILE he was playing. That being said, Soccer is a tough game and the US and the rest of the western hemisphere don’t seem open to open gay players on teams. There are a lot of ways to abuse someone on the pitch.
Good Point Joe.
I hope he passes on that naked photo spread. I am the first to admit that I would love to see him nekkid, but it changes everything about some people once they go there.