Robert Hampton Rogers III is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came out as gay, becoming the second male soccer player in Britain to do so after Justin Fashanu in 1990. After a brief retirement, he became the first openly gay man to compete in a top North American professional sports league when he played his first match for the LA Galaxy in May 2013.
Rogers in a press conference for the U.S. national team in 2009
Robbie Rogers on March 29, 2008, at Columbus Crew Stadium, in a match against Toronto FC
Rogers playing for the LA Galaxy in 2013
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation or gender identity.
19th-century gay rights advocate Karl Heinrich Ulrichs