Robbie Rogers made history on Sunday as the first openly gay man to play in a game in U.S. professional sports. If there was any concern about whether fans would be supportive, it was eased as the crowd stood and cheered wildly when Rogers took the field during the second half of the L.A. Galaxy's 4-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.
This might forever become a tricky piece of sports trivia. The NBA's Jason Collins is the first male pro athlete to come out while still an active player, but Collins' season was already over.
Rogers signed with the Galaxy on Saturday after training with the team for a month, and his first game came the next day in front of more than 24,000 fans. Upon coming out in February, Rogers had retired from the sport, saying it was time to "discover myself."
"I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest," he said in a blog post at the time.
Rogers said he was nervous for a couple hours before the game and called his sister on the way to "get my mind off things." They talked about his dog.
"I was driving over here and I gave her a call because I just needed to hear someone's voice," he told reporters after the game. "Part of me was just afraid, not afraid, just a little nervous. I understand that I guess historically this is a big thing, but for me it's just another soccer game."
Rogers said the nerves disappeared when he got to the stadium. "I've done this a million times, but obviously I'm not naive, I know people are watching."
Watch the moment Rogers took the field and got a standing ovation in the video below and then see photos of Rogers from the game on the following pages.
