Gay Athlete Robbie Rogers Return to Football with a Win 4-0

Robbie Rogers' return to football ended in a 4-0 win as Robbie Keane's hat-trick saw the Los Angeles Galaxy ease past the Seattle Sounders.

Barely 24 hours after signing for the Galaxy to end his hiatus from the game after coming out, Rogers became American professional sport's first openly gay active player when he stepped off the bench - to a standing ovation from the home fans - to replace Juninho in the 77th minute.

By that time the Galaxy were already four goals up thanks to Sean Franklin's 12th-minute opener and strikes from Keane in the 24th, 34th and 44th minutes, the last two from the penalty spot. The Sounders had Shalrie Joseph sent off late on.

Return: Robbie Rogers had initially retired from football after announcing that he was gay

 

'I guess this is an historic thing, but for me it was just a soccer game,' Rogers said. 

Nerves began getting the best of Rogers in the hours before he left home for the stadium, not because he was anxious about being the first openly gay player but because he was rusty after time out of the sport. 

He called his sister for reassurance. 

'I just needed to hear someone's voice,' Rogers said. 'We were talking about my dog. Just get my mind off things.'

He received loud cheers from the crowd of 24,811 as he ran onto the pitch, with fans chanting his name. Rogers ran by team-mate Landon Donovan, who slapped his hand and patted him on the back as he took his position.

Welcoming: Rogers is greeted by Landon Donovan as he makes his debut for LA Galaxy