Robbie Keane may have provided the Los Angeles Galaxy with the goals it needed to come away the victor from Sunday's game against the Seattle Sounders, but it was Robbie Rogers who stole the show.
Rogers stepped onto the pitch in the 77th minute to a roaring crowd Sunday night. For the first time in American men's professional sports, an openly gay man was a part of the competition.
In April, Rogers came out as a gay man and announced his retirement from professional soccer. The former U.S. Men's National Team player was then invited to a training session with the Los Angeles Galaxy and earlier this month, a trade was finalized between his old club, Columbus Crew, and the Galaxy.
Jason Collins of the Washington Wizards comes out in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, becoming the first gay athlete in major U.S. men's professional sports to come out during his career.
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," Collins writes in the first-person essay, which is online now.
"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this," he writes. "Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."