Robbie Rogers, the first active openly gay male athlete to compete in a U.S. professional team sport, made an appearance on "CBS This Morning" on Monday, June 3.
He spoke with co-hosts Gayle King, Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell about his decision to come out and what it's like to have achieved such a momental accomplishment.
Rogers announced his retirement from soccer in February of this year when he came out but his retirement didn't last long, as he recently returned to the field and now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy. When Gayle King asked him if he encouraged other athletes to come out, Rogers said:
"I’d be a hypocrite if I pressured people into coming out because it took me a while, 25 years. What I’d love is for different athletes to come out and then they could reach Middle America. They are the heroes in Tennessee or in different areas, these basketball and football and baseball players. Soccer’s getting bigger. It’s the biggest sport in the world but not in the United States, so my platform isn’t as big as these guys. So I’d love that, but I can’t pressure them into doing it."
Watch the clip above to fall in love with Robbie Rogers even more than you probably already have.
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