Photo by Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
The fact that long-time friends Robbie Rogers and Jurgen Klinsmann had not spoken in the time since Rogers announced that he is gay had become a major talking point of this winter, but it appears the two have found time to reconnect, and put the recent issues behind them.
Rogers told the LA Galaxy Insider that he and Klinsmann are back on speaking terms after the pair went years without talking following Rogers’ announcement that he was gay. Klinsmann was a major mentor for Rogers during the fullback’s rise, leading to Rogers discussing the pair’s estrangement in his recent book.
What followed was a series of interviews with both parties where the two said they would be open to talking once again. With communication now a bit more frequent, Rogers is looking forward to putting the mini-feud behind him in an issue that he himself describes as “dumb”.
“It was just stupid. I think that it was stupid that it became a back-and-forth in the press. It’s not about soccer, it’s about me and my relationships,” Rogers told the LA Galaxy’s website. “Anyone that has read my book knows that I love soccer, but if there was one thing that I cherish more, it’s my family, my friends and my relationships. But Jurgen and I have shared a few emails, and we’ll talk now which is a good thing. The book did its job.
“This was something that when I was writing the book was bothering me, but last year, I didn’t think about it once. If the people close to me knew what I wrote in the book, they wouldn’t even ask me because they knew that I was over it. I never think about it anymore and the only thing that I thought was dumb was going back in forth in the press rather than having a conversation. I’m sure that he feels the same way. We both don’t have time for that kind of stuff.”
One thing Rogers does have time for is White House visits, as the Galaxy made a stop to visit President Barack Obama a few weeks ago. The visit saw the President praise Rogers for his trailblazing for gay athletes in comments that the fullback really took to heart.
Where Rogers hopes to make his biggest, however, is on the field. Rogers is finally enjoying himself and embracing the idea that he is an athlete, not just a gay athlete. With newfound confidence in himself, Rogers is looking forward to cementing his legacy on the field.
“Legacy wise, people will think of the fact that I went to the White House and President Obama talked about how I am one of the first gay players. That will always be spoken about when my name comes up, but last year and this year; I haven’t thought much about it,” Rogers said. “But even when Obama talked about that, I was just surprised and shocked because I really don’t consciously think of myself as a gay athlete anymore.
“That’s why I’ve enjoyed the sport so much more than before when I thought that ‘oh, I’m the gay one.’ Not that it is a bad thing, but now I can just enjoy my sport and not think about it. I think that as time goes on and hopefully I can stay healthy and contribute then hopefully people will just start to think of me as a great outside back.”
To play soccer with the national team it’s better to make your name as a skilled player than about how your social life is functioning. He needs to play really well to be chosen for the USMNT. As long there is too much emphasis put on something other than that, it is a distraction. RR needs to play soccer to prove himself. Nothing else.
I guess this is what I get for reading the comments.
Kind of sad how upset people get just at the mention of the word “gay”.
Got it. It’s not the panties or vaginitis. It’s just that time of month.
Stay classy.
Dude, you need to grow up. You look like a fool.
That’s great tgey are talking, he’s still not good enough for the nats thou
#truth
Rogers “was” an international class midfielder with his time with the Crew, overseas with Leeds and with the USMNT. He is not yet at the same level as a left back with the Galaxy…YET. But he may become one. He has exhibited great potential at the LB position and his learning curve is accelerated due to his ability to learn from one of the better (if not the best) coach in MLS and USMNT history, Bruce Arena.
Klinsmann was the first to admit he left Robbie Rogers of the list for the January training camp, but explained it was only because he wanted to get some time with potential U23’s for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers and that he had plans to invite Rogers to future camps.
RR is greatly superior to the Shea option and when he does get a shot at the position, he will do very well.
“RR is greatly superior to the Shea option and when he does get a shot at the position, he will do very well.”
Lets set our sights higher than Shea. All Shea has going for him is JK for some strange reason, likes him. I agree with a previous poster, Robbie is done with the NATs. Nothing special enough to warrent more looks. Too many others of German origins that are better
Y’all act like the US has a logjam of Champion’s League level or higher 18-20 year old LB prospects just lining up for the LB position; guys that Bayern, Real , Barca and Chelsea are just waiting to sign.
RR and Shea for all their internet worthy quirks, just happen to be two of the best American soccer players available lately, a thought.you should find sobering.
“RR is greatly superior to the Shea option” – Funny, everyone said the DMB option was going to fail as well – how’d that work out.
We all know the obvious guys ahead of RR in the depth chart – but heck, even Parkhurst > RR. Castillo is only a year or two older, and a better option. Garza has an enormous upside to RR. The list goes on.
But seriously, i think the dog will get a bone for PR sake, and he’ll ride off with his prince into the sunset. He will never get a call for a serious game, and if he does, boy, katy bar the door, we’ll done.
User 222 is a seriously ignorant bastard.
Tim – What’s wrong, vaginitis acting up today?
How on earth do comments like yours not get moderated out of this site? We all deplore fans like the Chelsea folks in Paris singing about being racist… years from now we’ll look on people like you the same way.
Doubt it – you can’t change your race, but we all know that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice… Cue the pitchforks and torches…3..2..1
Robbie is not a stranger to the US setup, and the USMNT has exactly one natural left-footed left back (who is relatively new and currently injured). From what I saw of the Galaxy last year, Rogers was a solid starter on the best team in MLS. His talent has rarely been questioned, it seemed the mental part of his game was where he struggled at times. So if he is in a good place mentally and in form, he should get called up to see how he compares to the other options.
But we have a slew of natural right-footed players that can play left back better than RR. I would be very surprised if RR ever sees another call, especially for a meaningful game.
^This
^ That
Exceept that he got calls from Jurgen when he wasn’t even playing nearly as well as he did for the Galaxy this past season
Robbie, are you posting as mia tonight? Listen, is it possible he gets “thrown a bone” (pun intended) and gets another cap in a meaningless game – sure. But there are a bunch of guys that can play LB better than him. Heck, the DMB experiment turned out very well. The Shea experiment is just as tasteful. RR is MLS above-average. That doesn’t cut it on the global scene.
This article is totally stupid. Who cares if Robbie Rogers and JK are on speaking terms. Maybe Robbie caught some early breaks because he and JK were buds but those days are over. There are a lot of outside defenders that are better than Robbie now. This whole thing also puts JK in a very bad position. Is he going to feel pressured to call up Robbie because he is gay and we don’t have enough gay representation on the team? If he doesnt call him, will people think it is because Robbie is gay and JK doesnt like that? JK can’t win
Bottom line is that none of this stuff has any business even even being printed here. This is a site about soccer, not sexual orientation or who talks to who. If Rogers is better than other outside defenders then he should get called. Period. Full stop. The fact is, he’s not. And with every German JK finds and brings in, Rogers slips another notch lower on the depth chart. It has nothing to do with his lifestyle choices.
homosexuality isn’t a lifestyle choice, but whatever.
he is an MLS soccer player. it was a big story, although I agree that the media made it more than what it was (concerning whether Jurgen and Robbie spoke or not), and so a story about how a US Soccer manager gets on or doesn’t with a player pool past contributor and current prospect certainly qualifies as “worthy”, unless you reckon we should just stick to box scores and post-game reports entirely.
Gabe, you are making it more than it is. Robby is a fringe player (AT BEST). There are plenty of good/decent footballers, who have NO business being near the USMNT. I watched him plenty last year. Is he decent (good at the MLS)? Yes. However, he is nothing more. Sacha is MUCH better player, but does really belong as more than a fringe or B team player.
Ripley,
“we don’t have enough gay representation on the team?”
How do you know how many USMNT players are gay?
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”, you have to work your way to the top kid. You should know that by now “Klinsy doesnt roll with the past (see Donovan)”. Buddying up with the National team head coach will not get you a place on the national team (well…only if he’s Bob Bradley), you are going to have to work, sweat and maintain, season after season, like everyone else.
Right Like Julian Green
Robbie is an inspiring person, and a decent MLS left back.
But he shouldn’t be considered for the national team until he learns to cross the ball. Which seems unlikely at this point.
I don’t honestly know how inspiring he is as a person…coming out certainly was a courageous and inspiring action. I’ve never been of the impression that hes a gravitating, inspiring individual though…just my opinion.
his coming out makes him an inspiration to many.
Def. many: “The majority of people.”
Def. some: “At least a small amount or number of people or things.”
If I had to err, I would say his coming out makes him an inspiration to some.
Rejected
I think you are confusing “many” with “most.”
You need a new dictionary.
Robbie Rogers simply is not that good. Is a he good enough to start at MLS – yes. Is he good enough to start for the USMNT to compete at the highest level – no. That beign said he is only 27 and he could have another 7/8 years at MLS. I don’t know if Robbie made a big deal of this or the USMNT fan community or media. It is a non-issue.
Sometimes, it seems like the USMNT’s job requires just as much if not more babysitting and media & fan management. It is just getting annoying.
You do recall he has 18 USMNT caps already, don’t you? True, he’s not quite there now, not yet. But considering he just learned a new position, if he continues this way, he could find himself in the pool again, say for a possible gold cup call up
“After akward miss understanding Donovan and his butcher back in speaking terms”
In a story that caused ripples as far as the vegetable section it looks like former US captain and Karl, head butcher at SaveALot have found a way to move on with their lives
I thought it was true until you mentioned SaveALot.. Everyone knows that LD shops at Gelsons
The Onion called. They want their writer back.
Haha
New article title, “Rodgers relieved JK is not homophobic.”
And to Tolmich:
The fact that long-time friends Robbie Rogers and Jurgen Klinsmann had not spoken in the time since Rogers announced that he is gay had become a major talking point of this winter…
Really.?. It wasn’t even a MINOR talking point, ever… Maybe in Weho, but probably not even there. Did you have to hit a word quota this month?
This might be the second most ridiculous storyline in the history of the world. Agreed, it was never a point and the fact that the press and/or Rodgers made it into a point is the most ridiculous storyline in the history of the world.- I have verified both of these statements as scientific facts that have a 0% probability they could ever be refuted otherwise.
“Major talking point of this winter” except nobody in the world cared, except maybe Rodgers who merely wanted a national team call-up.
what a drama queen
Exactly – men do not behave this way.
Right. You’d never hear, say, zlatan talking about how cold his relationship was with pep.
And nobody’s ever known anything about sir alex’s drama with every player he ever managed.
apples oranges
Apples = Hetero, Oranges = Homo?
Zlatan is funny; Rogers is not. Zlatan is world class; Rogers is not. Zlatan has a pony tail; Rogers does not. Zlatan over Rogers any day of the week and over Donovan too. 🙂
Zlatan is a first class a$$ too
Zlatan does not whine like woman.
Misogynist and homophobic all at once, bravo
Joamiq – Panties too tight today? Or is it vaginitis?
Ives, as someone who’s been around since the newspaper days, I’d suggest you do some moderating. What once was a bastion of thoughtful soccer discussion, is now a place for homophobic/misogynistic teenage boy name calling.
This drama sounds like prep for a TV show on Bravo.
real men eat red meat off the bone and drag their knuckles on the ground when they walk.
I follow US soccer almost religiously and I never knew this was a “thing.”
Was it real or is he trying to sell more books (cough, Howard, cough)? I figured Rogers wasn’t in the picture because he wasn’t playing, didn’t do well when he played, then randomly went into retirement — which Donovan will tell you is a big fat no, no.
Not really a story. Pretty much someone asked Rogers if he had talked to Klinsmann. As any American is asked, after playing well for a month. Rogers said he hadn’t, but he had sent him an email when he came out. That was about it.
Not even close to an accurate summary. As they say, you lie by omission.
Agree with Jack. Lie by omission. This is what Rogers wrote in his book,
“It’s funny. You would think that with all the notes and messages and phone calls that came in, I wouldn’t notice the one that I didn’t get. But there is one coach who had been an important mentor, who has helped guide me throughout my career, and who I thought I’d hear from but didn’t… It really saddened me that even after I wrote to him twice, he was silent. I can’t help but wonder why”
“I’ve known [Jurgen] since I was 12 or 13 years old” he says. “Jurgen wrote my letter to Leeds to get my working permit. He was one of the guys who spoke to my mom about whether or not I should go to residency. He used to drive me to Galaxy training when I was younger”
It does not make Klinsmann or US Soccer look good and I imagine there has been some pressure on JK, especially with the recent articles like LAG Confidential
You have no idea what a big relief this is. The angst filled sleepless nights are a thing of the past now.
Nothing about ssocer on this article.. Ryan Tolmich and Ives pushing gayness on SBI fans…
this article made you feel pushed to become gay?
I think he believes reading leads to “gayness” which would make him….. oh no!!!
Hope Rogers gets a look if he keeps improving as a left back.
“pushing gayness on SBI fans”
You have an interesting way of looking at things, User
I think what he means is that the article is on such a superfluous topic that its inclusion is almost suspect. Perhaps User doesn’t realize that RR and JK used to play together on the field. The suspect part is not a pushing of gayness on readers of SBI but rather the inference that JK stopped talking to RR after the latter came out. If this article is pushing anything, its that JK is homophobic, or that RR is too sensitive. One thing is for sure, his great play on the field the second half of 2014 warrants coverage of things related to him. I believe User is not a Galaxy fan
His feud with our National team coach coming to an end –making him a VIABLE OPTION for Klinsmann now.
NOPE…..nothing, not a thing, not even a mention about soccer or a team we care about. NOPE….didn’t see it, what did I miss(?), can someone please help me………..IT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE FREAKIN ARTICLE NUMBNUTS.
Cheers.
…and? Do you feel gay yet? I have no idea. We are still waiting for you to finish.
Pretty sure only someone who feels gay in the first place but is trying to repress it would make such a comment. So, yes, he probably felt gay after reading the article, but correlation does not imply causation.
WOW. Bigoty much?