CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy midfielder Robbie Rogers isn’t planning on getting married any time soon, but at least now he knows he can in the state he calls home.
The US Supreme Court's rulings on Wednesday that declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional and struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act means that gay marriage will be legal in California as soon as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals receives paperwork from the Supreme Court, which could take as long as a month.
“I'm far from getting married, but I have friends that have been together for a really long time that now can get married, and guys who have been separated for green-card reasons or all that stuff, so it's just kind of exciting,” said Rogers, the first and only openly gay player in Major League Soccer. “It's cool. I'm a California boy, so if I ever want to get married, it would be here, in front of my family.”
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The 26-year-old Rogers, who came out in February, has appeared in five regular-season matches and a US Open Cup match since joining the Galaxy in May. He started and played 75 minutes in the Galaxy's win over Chivas USA last weekend.
He said on Wednesday that he received a text from his mother after the Supreme Court’s ruling asking how he felt about the decision.
“I told her, 'Well, I feel great, Mom, I'm really excited about it,” he said, “and, you know, my mom comes from a very conservative Catholic family, and one of the first things she says: 'I'm so happy for your friends that now can get married.'
“So times are changing, definitely, and I think my mom is such a loving person, but probably a few years ago, if you would have asked her that, she probably would have had no comment.”
California becomes the 13th state, plus the District of Columbia, where gay marriage is legal.
“That would have been the bolder move [to legalize across the country], I guess, but things are progressing, things are moving,” he added. “I feel like this year has just been a pretty special year.”
Rogers and the Galaxy face their archnemeses, the San Jose Earthquakes, on this coming Saturday (10:30 pm ET; watch on MLSsoccer.com).
