Footballer Robbie Rogers has revealed how coming out as gay lifted a heavy burden off him.
The ex-Leeds United midfielder, 26, now playing for David Beckham’s old team LA Galaxy, said: “I wanted to be free of the secret, I did it selfishly, for my sanity, for my happiness.
“I didn’t want to carry it around with me for another second. After finally getting the courage, it was like: ‘I’m over this, I have to change something’.”
The American, who has played for his national side, said he hoped other top professionals would learn from his experience and openly admit to their sexuality.
In a BBC Radio 5 interview being broadcast today, Robbie admitted he delayed his revelation until this February because of his career.
He said: “In football, you hear the most homophobic things that scar you and really affect you growing up. I didn’t know what would happen, I was just very fearful. I feared going to the training ground or into the changing room and having everyone staring at me in silence.”
Robbie signed for Leeds in January 2012 but the first six months of his career there were blighted by injury. He joined Galaxy in May.
He said: “I don’t think fans in England are homophobic at all. They are just so passionate they will do anything to help their team get a little bit of an edge. The things they say in a stadium do not reflect their character. But sometimes they go overboard. I learned that while I was in England. It’s sad. Fans must think before they start yelling.” He said: “I hope other players learn from my experience and see it wasn’t a big deal. I’m still playing and getting on with my life.”
The only other leading professional footballer in Britain to admit his homosexuality was Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker Justin Fashanu in 1990.
Eight years later, aged 37, he committed suicide in London after being charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy in the US.