Sports
Robbie Rogers ‘battling through’ injury
Q&A with soccer’s openly gay player

Robbie Rogers is set to return to the D.C. area on Sept. 14 for a match between DC United and LA Galaxy. (Photo by Noah Salzman via Wikimedia Commons)
Robbie Rogers sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss his recent hamstring injury and being Major League Soccer’s first openly gay player.
Washington Blade: You suffered a right hamstring injury at the end of July and then tweaked your left hamstring in a match on Aug. 20. How is the rehab going?
Robbie Rogers: I am just battling to get back to full health and it is going to take a few more weeks. Hopefully, this weekend I can start running again. The injuries are part of being a professional athlete. You have these setbacks that you just have to battle through. It is unfortunate and frustrating, but it’s something that athletes always go through during their careers. It’s part of the job.
FIND MORE OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE SPORTS ISSUE HERE.
Blade: The fans of Major League Soccer are notoriously vocal. How have the Galaxy fans been treating you?
Rogers: The Galaxy fans have been very supportive since day one and they are some of the best fans in the league. At the home games, you can really feel their presence. I have really enjoyed my time here in L.A.
Blade: You reached out to Galaxy coach Bruce Arena when you decided to come out of retirement. Coach Arena has had a long and successful career. Were you more drawn to the opportunity to work with him or to just be a part of the Galaxy team?
Rogers: I was most interested in being a part of the soccer environment again. Working with Bruce and being a part of Galaxy was definitely in the back of my mind, but it was mostly about getting back to soccer.
Blade: The Sept. 14 DC United vs. LA Galaxy match just happens to be on the night of the annual LGBT event, United Night Out. Have you been surprised that there are so many enthusiastic LGBT soccer fans?
Rogers: Yeah, I was actually pretty surprised. Growing up in soccer you don’t feel like that exists; in fact it is quite the opposite. It is really nice when I travel around the country or even playing at home in the StubHub Center to have that support.
Blade: You played college soccer at the University of Maryland. What is it like coming back into the area again as a professional athlete? Did you play at RFK when you were with the Columbus Crew?
Rogers: Yes, I played at RFK a bunch of times with the Crew and I have also been back to College Park since I started my professional career. I always enjoy coming back to the area and I have really great memories from the University of Maryland and winning the NCAA Championship. It is really special for me when I come back to the D.C. area.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
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