Former U.S. Men's National Team soccer
player Robbie Rogers came out gay on Friday.
In a blog post titled The
Next Chapter... Rogers, 25, wrote: “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.”
“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.”
“My secret is gone, I am a free man,
I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.”
Rogers, who was recently cut from the
UK's Leeds United team, also said he was retiring from professional
soccer.