Sports
Robbie Rogers, L.A. Galaxy headed to D.C. in September
Status of gay player Robbie Rogers unclear after injury
Robbie Rogers came out earlier this year. (Photo by Noah Salzman via Wikimedia Commons)
The L.A. Galaxy come to RFK Stadium to take on D.C. United on Sept. 14 in a match that will begin at 4 p.m. Arguably, the Galaxy is the most visible and most talked about team in Major League Soccer (MLS), thanks in part to the six seasons that David Beckham played for them.
The “Beckham Effect” brought Major League Soccer onto the world stage and helped to increase the popularity of soccer in the United States. During Beckham’s six seasons with the Galaxy, seven expansion teams debuted in MLS, new stadiums were built and attendance for regular season and post-season matches soared.
The Galaxy is the two-time defending MLS Cup champion from 2011 and 2012, and this season they are in a tight battle in the Western Conference with seven other teams. The prospects of the team making it into the post-season tournament are looking better over the past month as the chemistry between Galaxy stars Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane has really begun to emerge.
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Also on the 2013 roster of the L.A. Galaxy is midfielder Robbie Rogers. Rogers played one season of college soccer at the University of Maryland and helped lead the Terrapins to the 2005 NCAA Championship.
Shortly thereafter, he began his professional soccer career, which included stints with Orange County Blue Star, Heerenveen, Columbus Crew, Leeds United and Stevenage.
He retired from soccer in January 2013 and came out as gay in the following month. In May, he signed with the L.A. Galaxy, becoming the first openly gay male athlete to join MLS or any of the five major North America professional sports leagues.
Rogers has spent the 2013 season trying to return to form and keep his spot on the 18-man roster in regular season play. He has made nine regular season game appearances and six game starts. Last month, he injured his right hamstring and was out until a 45-minute appearance against Real Madrid on Aug. 1 in the International Champions Cup.
On Aug. 20, Rogers earned a start in a CONCACAF Champions League match against Cartagines where he injured his left hamstring. The extent of the injury is still unclear at this time and it remains to be seen whether Rogers will travel to D.C. with the L.A. Galaxy for the match against United on Sept. 14.
Rogers has been on a media blitz over the past several months appearing on Anderson Cooper 360, Nightline, CNN, MTV and Chelsea Lately among others. Most of the conversations have been about the struggles of being a closeted gay athlete.
So what do Los Angeles sports fans think about their gay soccer player?
One only has to look as far as the L.A. Galaxy blogs to find that the subjects most fans are talking about is their wish for Rogers to get healthy and stay focused on the game rather than his media tour. Truth be told, they basically said the same thing about Beckham during his tenure.
Will there be a “Rogers Effect”?
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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