Coming Out To Play

In this empowering autobiography, professional soccer player Rogers describes his experiences as the first openly gay player on a major league soccer team, the L.A. Galaxy. Midfielder Rogers was a soccer phenomenon from a young age, and his quickness repeatedly made him one of the best players on the field. However, the burden of hiding his sexual orientation led to bouts of depression, especially during his first international move to Holland to play for SC Heerenveen in 2006. Having been raised in a devout Catholic environment, Rogers agonized that his family would not accept his sexuality. Further, he was not convinced that he could be both a professional soccer player and an openly gay man. He carefully explains the nervousness he experienced before writing the blog post that would change his life forever—the one explaining his true identity—and how he never dreamt how positive the response would be.