Former soccer pro Matt Hatzke comes out: ‘If I have one regret it’s that I didn’t live my life and share the real me with my teammates when I had the chance’

He played with David Beckham and against Robbie Rogers.

But the stress of being a closeted gay man led Matt Hatzke to walk away from pro soccer just as his career was getting started.

‘ … I felt I had to leave soccer to sort out my personal life and get things right in my head. I truly believed that I could never come out as gay while playing professional soccer,’ Hatzke wrote in a first-person account posted earlier today on Outsports.

Hatzke had been drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008 then traded to the San Jose Earthquakes. That year, his team pulled an upset win over the eventual league champions Columbus Crew whose roster included a still-closeted Rogers.

‘What should have been a great night celebrating one of our rare wins that season turned out to be a depressing nightmare,’ Hatzke writes. ‘With teammates razzing me to talk to this woman and that woman, I turned to my drink and imbibed heavily to avoid confrontation.’

It’s a scenario similar to that experienced by Rogers, the first openly gay player in the history of Major League Soccer.

When Hatzke was let go by The Earthquakes, he had opportunities to play for teams in Vancouver or Portland but instead walked away from the game and enroll in dental school.

He continued to struggle personally but things began to turn around for Hatzke when Rogers came out two years ago, briefly retired, then returned to the sport and has since been a member of LA Galaxy.

‘The impact Rogers and the stories of other athletes had on me was profound,’ he writes. ‘Without them I may still be drowning my sorrows in the beer of straight bars. I know other athletes’ stories helped me immensely, so I am sharing mine here to help the next guy find acceptance and happiness.’

Hatzke has had a boyfriend for two years and is practicing as a dentist.

‘Life got so much better for me after I came out to myself, my friends and my family. If I have one regret it’s that I didn’t live my life and share the real me with my teammates when I had the chance.’