RPV-Born Robbie Rogers Makes Sports History

This article was written and reported by City News Service.

Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay male athlete to take the field in a North American professional sports league Sunday when he played the final 14 minutes of the Los Angeles Galaxy's 4-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC in a Major League Soccer game at The Home Depot Center.

Rogers embraced Juninho, who he replaced, then smiled as he ran onto the field in the 77th minute of the 90-minute game amid cheers from much of the crowd announced at 24,811. Rogers, a winger, did not take any shots.

"The most important thing is we got three points," Rogers told ESPN2. "The guys played amazing and made it easy for me."

Rogers, who spent the early years of his life in Rancho Palos Verdes before moving to Huntington Beach, signed a multi-year contract with the Galaxy Saturday after it acquired the right of first refusal for him in a trade with the Chicago Fire, which obtained midfielder Mike Magee, whose six goals were tied for second in the league at the time of the trade.

Rogers, 26, wrote on his website Feb. 23 that he is gay and that it was "time to step away" and "discover myself away from football."

Rogers had left the English second-division team Leeds United in January by mutual consent and his MLS rights were acquired by Chicago Fire in a Feb. 4 trade with the Columbus Crew, who he played for from 2007-2011.

Rogers told ESPN Radio earlier this month that he didn't want to play for Chicago, preferring to play close to home.

"I need to do it somewhere where I'm totally 100 percent comfortable," said Rogers, who was raised in Huntington Beach and played for Mater Dei High School.

Rogers began training with the Galaxy April 30.

"For 25 years, I've been afraid to share a secret with someone," Rogers said Saturday. "And I finally did that. I kept my secret because I thought I couldn't be both a soccer player and a gay athlete.

"I was afraid to be back in an environment that affected me in the past. After I finally got in here, everything was completely normal."

Rogers helped lead the University of Maryland to the NCAA championship in 2005, played for the U.S. in the 2008 Olympic Games and 18 games with the U.S. national team between 2009-2011.

Rogers is also a co-owner of the menswear brand Halsey and a fashion contributor to Bello magazine.