Robbie Rogers is planning to write a
memoir.
The book, titled Coming Out to Play,
will be published by Penguin Books as a paperback original sometime
next year.
The book will track Rogers' rise from a
“troubled isolated child” to the first openly gay male
professional athlete, according to the publisher.
In February, Rogers, 26, came out gay
and announced his retirement from professional soccer in an online
post. He came out of retirement to play with the Los Angeles Galaxy,
making his debut in May.
“I don't know what I was so afraid
of,” Rogers
earlier told the AP. “It's been such a positive experience for
me. The one thing I've learned from all of this is being gay is not
that big a deal to people. People are just really growing and
accepting and loving. Those other things are just not that important
to them. I think as the younger get older and the generations come
and go, I think times are just becoming more accepting.”
“I get to do something I love, and I
get to help people and be a positive role model,” Rogers said of
returning to the game. “It's a perfect world for me, a perfect
world.”