Robbie Rogers of the Los Angeles Galaxy
recently said that he expected more gay professional athletes to
follow him out of the closet.
The 27-year-old Rogers last year became
the MLS' first openly gay player.
The ranks of openly gay professional
athletes increased with the coming outs of Jason Collins and Michael
Sam. But Collins recently announced his retirement and Sam is
currently without a team, leaving Rogers the last man standing.
“To be honest, I thought when I came
out and Jason and Michael, I thought there'd be a chain reaction,”
Rogers told the AP.
“It's been a lot slower. I guess
that just reminds me how big a problem it is in sports culture with
homophobia. They don't feel comfortable.”
“There are a number of gay men
playing professional sports, just not out,” he added. “In the
end, it's really about guys coming out and changing the atmosphere by
being in it. You definitely need to create the environment first
where guys feel comfortable.”
In
Coming Out To Play, released last week by Penguin Books and
co-written by Eric Marcus, Rogers chronicles his rise from a
“troubled isolated child” to the first openly gay male
professional athlete, according to the publisher.