A week after Jason Collins became the first openly gay U.S. male athlete in a major professional sports league, former U.S. men’s national team winger Robbie Rogers is mulling a comeback to Major League Soccer.
Rogers decided to take a break from the sport in February after he announced that he is gay. But after training with the Los Angeles Galaxy over the last several days, Rogers indicated that he is close to returning to soccer. In an interview with “Soccer Today,” on Dallas radio station 103.3 FM, Rogers said he is encouraged by the reception he’s received from the Galaxy players throughout training.
Rogers, 25, has not played since mutually departing ways with Leeds United of the English League in January. Rogers did not score a goal in four appearances with Leeds or in a short stint on loan with Stevenage of League One earlier this season.
"To be honest, I had no plans of going back to football at all and definitely not this soon," Rogers told the station. "But I was looking over some video clips that MLS sent to CNN or ABC of me training, fooling around and just enjoying football. It kind of (made me say), 'Oh my gosh, I miss this stuff.' I just need a bit more time to evaluate and to see how things play out, but I've really enjoyed myself. It feels normal to be back.”
Although Rogers’ rights are owned by the Chicago Fire, he doesn’t envision himself playing for Chicago. In five MLS seasons with the Columbus Crew, Rogers netted 13 goals in 106 appearances. The Fire acquired Rogers from the Crew in February. Rogers, a native of Ranchos Palos Verde, Calif., prefers to remain somewhere close to his Southern California home.
“I don't want to go to Chicago," Rogers said. "I think if it comes down to (where) you can only play in Chicago, then I probably won't go back. I need to do it somewhere where I'm 100 percent comfortable. I would most likely do it closest to my family.”
Rogers spoke briefly with Collins last week following his announcement.
“It's great that Jason did what he did and hopefully more athletes will follow,” Rogers said. “I'm happy that our society gave him such a positive response, because I think that's more important."
Rogers scored two goals in 18 appearances with the national team from 2009-11. In the 2009, CONCACAF Gold Cup, Rogers scored a goal and added two assists in a 4-0 win over Grenada. In May of 2010, Rogers earned a spot on the United States’ preliminary 30-man World Cup roster and made an appearance in a friendly against Czech Republic. One day later, Rogers was one of seven players released during the team’s final cuts.
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