The former Columbus Crew and USA winger Robbie Rogers has announced that he is gay, and that he has decided to "step away" from his career as a professional footballer.
In a statement published on his personal blog under the title The Next Chapter, the 25-year-old wrote: "Things are never what they seem… My whole life I have felt different, different from my peers, even different from my family. In today's society being different makes you brave. To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith in your purpose.
"For the past 25 year[s] I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations. Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret. Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams."
You can read the full article in The Guardian.