Pro soccer player Robbie Rogers gave his first interview to a gay publication as the cover model for Out magazine's sports issue. It's a Q&A with editor Matthew Breen that is well done, and the part that was new was Rogers opening up a bit for the first time about his private life with these two questions:
You’ve said that before coming out you hadn’t hooked up with any guys. Have you made up for lost time?
RR: How do I answer this? I’m very conservative, but I have met some good people that I’ve hung out with. In London I dated a guy for a few months. He’s still one of my good friends, but it’s been tough to meet people in West Hollywood.
If someone wants to ask you out, what’s your advice on how to make a good impression?
RR: It bothers me when someone tries to hook me up with a friend — “You’re gay, my friend’s gay, you’re gonna love each other.” It’s like, OK, probably not. It has to happen in an organic way, where someone introduces himself and is genuine and doesn’t want to talk about soccer straight out the gate. When I started dating this guy in London, I just went up to him. I’m sure I’ll meet someone in a random place– the grocery store or wherever.
I think a lot of people reading this can relate to the friends playing matchmaker and the assumption that any two gay men will hit it off. It's well-meaning but normally doomed to failure.
Rogers comes across as a lot more comfortable with himself and expresses a willingness to get out front and become a spokesman. The photo above, from this weekend's L.A. Galazy game against Portland, is also revealing in showing how comfortable Rogers feels back on the pitch.
