Robbie Rogers was cheered in his first road game with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Rogers, the first openly gay man playing in a U.S. professional league, entered as a substitute in the 62nd minute of Los Angeles’ 2-0 loss to the Carolina Railhawks on May 29 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
He received polite applause from the Railhawks’ record crowd of 8,121, with some shouting cheers of encouragement and at least one of his teammates, Landon Donovan, recognized him for his openness.
“Because of the nature of the way sports has been for so many years – the macho culture that’s been embraced by everybody – it’s of interest to everybody,” Donovan said in the AP report. “Now, hopefully, the hype about it is over, and he can get back to being a soccer player, which is what he wants to do.”
Rogers told the AP he understood the historical significance of the moment, but that his focus was elsewhere.
“I guess this is a historic thing,” he said, “but for me it was just a soccer game.”
