num_pages: 240
description: The first openly gay professional athlete in North America tells the story of his landmark decision to come out of the closet and how he changed the playing field of professional sports forever.Rogers made history.  Sports IllustratedRobbie Rogers knows better than most that keeping secrets can crush you. But for much of his life Robbie lived in paralyzing fear that sharing his big secret would cost him the love of his family and his career as a professional soccer player. So he never told anyone what was destroying his soul both on and off the field.While the world around Robbie was changing with breathtaking speed he knew that for a gay man playing a professional team sport it might as well be 1958. He could be a professional soccer player. Or he could be an out gay man. He couldnt do both. Then last year at the age of twenty-five and after nearly stepping away from a brilliant careerone that included an NCAA Championship winning the MLS Cup and competing in the Olympicshe chose to tell the truth. But instead of facing the rejection he feared he was embracedby his family by his teammates and his fans. In Coming Out to Play Robbie takes readers on his incredible journey from terrified teenager to a trailblazing out and proud professional soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy who has embraced his new identity as a role model and champion for those still struggling with the secrets that keep them from living their dreams.
language: English
title: Coming Out to Play
publisher: Penguin Books