 Rogers in a press conference for the U.S. national team in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Hampton Rogers III[1] | ||
| Date of birth | May 12, 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002 | IMG Soccer Academy | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005 | Maryland Terrapins | 22 | (7) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005 | Orange County Blue Star | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Heerenveen | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Columbus Crew | 106 | (13) |
| 2012–2013 | Leeds United | 4 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Stevenage (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | LA Galaxy | 78 | (2) |
| 2014–2016 | → LA Galaxy II (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 203 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2007 | United States U20 | 15 | (3) |
| 2008 | United States U23 | 5 | (1) |
| 2009–2011 | United States | 18 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back.[3] Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came out as gay, becoming the second male soccer player in Britain to do so after Justin Fashanu in 1990.[4] After a brief retirement, he became the first openly gay man to compete in a top North American professional sports league when he played his first match for the LA Galaxy in May 2013.[5][6]
After one season of playing college soccer at the University of Maryland,[7] Rogers attracted the interest of the Dutch Eredivisie side Heerenveen. He signed for Heerenveen in August 2006 but failed to make any first-team appearances. He left the club by mutual consent in February 2007, and returned to the United States to sign for Columbus Crew. Rogers' four-year tenure at Columbus Crew was a successful one, with the player breaking through into the first-team, as well as securing an MLS Cup title in 2008 and two Supporters' Shield wins in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In December 2011, Rogers opted to leave Crew when his contract expired. He moved to England, although a series of injuries limited his appearances before he announced his retirement, and returned to the US.
In 2023, Rogers became an executive producer for the Peabody Award-winning miniseries [8] Fellow Travelers.
- ^ "Robbie Rogers – About". Robbie Rogers. Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ "Robbie Rogers – ESPN". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved August 24, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "LA Galaxy say Robbie Rogers has been 'brilliant' at left back". Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ McRae, Donald (March 29, 2013). "Robbie Rogers: why coming out as gay meant I had to leave football". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
Rogers then became only the second gay footballer in Britain to come out in public.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lalas, Greg; Firchau, Nick (May 25, 2013). "It's official: Robbie Rogers joins LA Galaxy; Chicago Fire get postseason hero Mike Magee in exchange". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ "Robbie Rogers: Breaking Down Barriers". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/fellow-travelers/