Robbie Rogers Says A Player Repeatedly Called Him 'Queer'

Out LA Galaxy defender Robbie Rogers has said that a player repeatedly called him “queer” during Saturday's game.

Rogers returned to work Saturday after being benched for two months over an ankle injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

In a Facebook post, Rogers, the first openly gay player in Major League Soccer (MLS) history, described the incident.

“In the heat of the last fifteen minutes of the game a player from the opposing team called me a 'queer' repeatedly,” Rogers explained. “To be honest my initial reaction was one of shock. This is my fourth season back in the MLS and I've yet to hear another player use that or any other gay slur during a game.”

“I went to bed upset last night. Angry at this player and his ignorance. Angry at myself for not doing more in the moment. Sad [that] we still live in a time where this kind of intolerance still exists in my sport and elsewhere. And if I'm being honest, I was even a bit ashamed that a single word could make me feel, even just for a moment, all the awful feelings I felt for so many years: small, less than, wrong, and unworthy of love and respect by my family or god forbid by my teammates.”

“I am, more than ever, thankful to have teammates and a family that love and support me for the son, brother, partner, father and queer player that I am,” he added.

MLS said in a statement that it and the United Soccer League (USL) have started an investigation.

“Although the investigation is ongoing, both MLS and the USL have zero tolerance for homophobia or any type of discrimination in our game,” the league said.