Los Angeles Galaxy winger Robbie Rogers has admitted that he feared becoming a locker room outcast after coming out as gay earlier this year.
The former Leeds United player said that he has received an outpouring of support since making the announcement, but has now opened up about his initial concerns.
"My biggest fear was going back into a locker room and being treated as an outcast," he said during an interview on Newsnight. "Playing a team sport, you're dealing with all of those personalities, people from all around the world.
"It's sitting there with all the guys - the banter and talking and trying to fit in. It's your team, it's your brothers, you fight together every weekend and to be outcast from a group like that and you're there every day is awful."
Rogers went on to say that he does not believe his fears were unfounded despite the support he has received from throughout the world of sport.
"Things that I've heard in stadiums and locker rooms made me think that there's no way I could come out and play soccer," he added.
Justin Fashanu, who committed suicide in 1998, is the only British player to have come out as gay.
Mark Langshaw
