Robbie Rogers Comes Out

In a poignant post entitled "The Next Chapter..." on his personal website, 25-year-old U.S. soccer player Robbie Rogers has come out as gay and also stepped away from professional soccer.  Congratulations Robbie. I wish you all the best!

Below is a copy of Robbie Rogers post.


The Next Chapter…

Things are never what they seem… My whole life I have felt different, different from my peers, even different from my family. In today’s society being different makes you brave.  To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith in your purpose.

For the past 25 year I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.   Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret.  Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams.

Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud.  What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?

Life is only complete when your loved ones know you.  When they know your true feelings, when they know who and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone.  Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.

Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple.   Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.

I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates.  I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.

Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football.  It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.  Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear.  My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended. 

I'm Proud Of You Hockey Star Gus Johnston.

Aussie Hockey Star Gus Johnston Comes Out

Hockey star Gus Johnston (of Australia's Victoria team) makes history for the country by coming out in a poignant and piercing video blog titled "The Reality of Homophobia In Sport."

While looking point-blank into the camera, the athlete says, "My name is Gus Johnston, I'm a writer, art director, filmmaker and a hockey goalkeeper. I'm also a gay man - and that's something I never thought I would say in such a public forum like this.''

Johnston, who only recently left his position as a goal keeper for the Victorian hockey team, says he regrets coming out after retirement. "I regret immensely that I wasn't strong enough as a leader, that I didn't step up when I was playing and share this about myself."

But his courage is nonetheless worthy of applause, as evident in what Johnston writes in the summary of the video that is quickly going viral: "After many years of competing in hockey at an elite level, I've decided to share my story and experience with homophobia in sport. It's taken me many years to find the strength to share it, but I hope that people find value in hearing it."

I Need To Speak About Me Now!

Many of you have become quite familiar with my discontent, my unhappiness and my angst. You also know that my life has been a struggle and although there are times when I feel good, they are mostly interspersed with times where I feel like crap. Whether you've noticed or not, I am becoming overwhelmed with what to do about this. There is so much going on in my life that is causing me to fully realize that I need to change and just be me. I have always been someone who lived his life according to the expectations of others; my parents, my siblings, my friends, my acquaintances, my gym buddies, my co-workers, my neighbors, my girlfriends; and yes, even the occasional (semi-secretive) boyfriend. I have lived I have always been two people - the person who I think others expect me to be and the person who I really am. It scares the shit out of me.  How can I have lived this way and expected to ever really be satisfied? How could I have lived this way and ever think that I could sustain being two people. So you're wondering what two different people have I lived as? I've lived as the secure, happy, content, successful, masculine, sexually charged straight man all the while really being the insecure, unhappy, struggling, somewhat masculine but making sure that my masculinity is widely perceived, bi man. Wait, let me change one thing. Isn't it time at this point in my life, especially after being in a loving (but super discreet gay relationships in my past) that I toss the "bi" out and just admit that I AM GAY! Fuck-it!  I am gay and have been for most likely a very long time! Now, why the fuck can't I simply say that to everyone! When I mean everyone, I mean my sister and brother and mom and dad and nephews and nieces and co-workers and friends and Facebook friends and gym friends and everyone! Because, although I may sneak into dark, dingy out-of-the-way sleazy gay bars (and I really never hook-up in these bars - I'm there looking for acceptance and friends who I guess will validate that it's fucking okay to be who the hell I really am), and have had a boyfriend or two that I had to mostly hide from the world (this is why I had to blog about my relationships, good and bad because I had really no one to talk to about it), I am really a poor excuse for a gay man, but more-so I am a great example of a gay man who is struggling to tell the world that "I am gay and accept me for who I am."

The past month or two I have been putting non-specific articles and images and quotes and links on my blog here. Why have I been doing that? Because by doing that I don't have to talk about me and I wanted to keep the few of you who read my blog interested and coming back - once again, there goes my acceptance issues, but I have a choice now that I must deal with. A choice that has confronted me for a very long time. I can continue being miserable, feeling that I am different, being unhappy and lonely or I can accept who I truly am and by doing so, comfortable let the world know that I am done hiding in dark corners, figuratively and literally, and just be me. I am scared as hell - I want to be accepted and I hate rejection but I also want to be happy. Will that help me be happy? I honestly feel it will assist me to get on the road toward that goal. I will write more - you can count on that. 

Country Singer Chely Wright Might Be Announcing That She's Gay.

I just read this on Perez Hilton..  I'm not into country music but thought it was interesting, maybe even important.  What do you think?

Singer/songwriter Chely Wright is about to make history as the first country music artist to declare she's gay.  The 39-year-old singer is most known for her hit "Single White Female" and was named Academy of Country Music's New Artist of the Year in 1999.  She's been romantically linked to Brad Paisley as well as many other male celebs in the past.

This could be be HUGE in the country world so she may be taking a gamble with her career.