Press Box: Soccer player says he's gay
Former Major League Soccer player and U.S. national team member Robbie Rogers announced on his personal blog that he is gay and that he is leaving the sport temporarily.
Rogers wrote, according to multiple media outlets: "For the past 25 years, I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgement 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. [...]
"Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently."
He concluded by saying he will take some time off from soccer after being released by Leeds last month.
Last week, the Chicago Fire acquired the rights to Rogers should he decide to return to MLS.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
---LSU has hired former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron as the Tigers' new offensive coordinator.
Cameron replaces Greg Studrawa, who served in the dual role as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach the past two seasons. Studrawa will stay with the Tigers as the line coach.
---The University of Alabama has barred from campus the three Crimson Tide football players charged in the robberies on Monday of two students.
Defensive back Eddie Williams, linebacker Tyler Hayes and defensive lineman D.J. Pettway face two counts of second-degree robbery after the attacks on the two Alabama students on campus. Williams also is suspected of using a stolen debit card.
Those three, as well as Brent Calloway, who was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card but not robbery, have been suspended from the team indefinitely.
NHL
---The Chicago Blackhawks recalled goaltender Henrik Karlsson from Rockford of the American Hockey League.
Karlsson, 29, posted a 2-2-0 record with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in four games with Rockford this season.
The 6-foot-6 Swedish goalie was acquired from Calgary on Jan. 21.
---The meteor that hit Russia on Friday damaged an arena used by a KHL team.
All events at Traktor Chelyabinsk's home rink were postponed until a structural assessment is made. The team is currently on the road, but a Kontinental Hockey League playoff game is scheduled to be played there on Thursday.
More than 1,100 people were injured with the meteor exploded over the Ural Mountains with atomic-bomb force.
GOLF
---Mariajo Uribe of Colombia moved past first-round leader Lydia Ko with a 6-under-par 67 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the LPGA Tour's Women's Australian Open in Canberra, Australia.
TENNIS
--Serena Williams will become the oldest woman to hold the world's No. 1 ranking after beating Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open on Friday. Williams, 31, will replace Victoria Azarenka when the rankings come out next week.
