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Robbie Rogers, first openly gay male to play professional sports in U.S., announces retirement

Robbie Rogers was in his first preseason training camp with the Galaxy when Landon Donovan organized a team-building night out. On the dry-erase board in the team’s locker room, Donovan spelled out the particulars in blue: players only; no wives, no girlfriends and, he added, no boyfriends.

If Rogers, the first openly gay male to play in a major professional team sport in the U.S., had any doubts he had been accepted, Donovan had dispelled them.

Rogers, 30, announced his retirement from professional soccer Tuesday after an 11-year professional career in England, the Netherlands and the U.