Pittsburgh Tigers Take Pride in Fostering an Inclusive Environment

Adam Knoerzer and Mike Marsico first met while playing hockey with the New York Gay Hockey Association, which was a life-changing experience on multiple levels.

"The community it brought, the people, I was in my own skin again," Knoerzer said. "We said, 'when we move to Pittsburgh, we're going to put a team together.'"

They relocated here, which is where Marsico grew up, in 2011. A year later, the couple launched the city's first LGBTQ+-friendly team, the Pittsburgh Tigers - who aim to foster an inclusive environment for all.

They play in leagues locally, and currently skate out of UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, with new seasons starting every few months (typically spring, summer and fall).

They participate in road tournaments, like the Eastern Canada Cup.

They get together to watch games, and love meeting up at the bar they've designated as their home base, Allegheny Wine Mixer in Lawrenceville.

But most importantly, everyone who loves the game of hockey can do so freely.

"For me, it's a sense of responsibility that we owe these people a place where they can play safely, where they can be out, where we can help them," Marsico said. "We've had so many people over the years where this is part of their coming out journey. They might not have been out to their families, and very oftentimes, not out to other players or coworkers or things like that. This is a sense of strength for them."

There are members who had previously given up the sport because it didn't feel right, until they found out about the Tigers. One person had stepped away for almost two decades after not feeling comfortable in other environments, and is now one of the team's strongest players.

"This is helping people rediscover it. At the end of the day, for me, that's all I could ask for," Knoerzer said. "Because when I found that league in New York, I finally felt like I found my people. It's nice to see that kind of continuing here. And now, we have such involvement. We have a board; we have a real organization and other people who are willing to step up and help do things with outreach."

The Penguins, who were named the NHL's 2021-22 Inclusion Champions by You Can Play, have been involved with the Tigers for a while, which has played a role in helping their growth.

Both men have always loved the Penguins, and even got married at PPG Paints Arena in 2015 (after holding a pre-wedding scrimmage with the Tigers at another local rink). Having their favorite team love them back and work to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community means a lot to Marsico and Knoerzer, who is from the Chicago area, but began rooting for the Penguins after being drawn to skilled players like Alexei Kovalev.

"It's huge for visibility. I think it's huge for credibility at a certain level as well," Knoerzer said. "I think it helps entrench our existence in the hockey community in an official fashion. Knowing that there's an organization that supports this, I think makes it easier for people to join us or feel okay to be themselves. Playing at the Penguins practice rink too, and knowing that there are sort of these layers, you feel a little bit less alone."

When Knoerzer and Marsico were first putting the team together, they knew of a couple people who would probably want to play - but apart from that, relied on word of mouth to find others who might be interested.

"Then, the day of our first game, we were even posting on Craigslist, like - does anybody want to play hockey? And we found people!" Knoerzer said with a laugh. "So, it was an untapped group at first, and we're continuing to grow."

It's been slow and controlled ever since, which is perfect, since building personal connections is important to Knoerzer and Marsico. They want everyone who's part of the team to really feel that sense of community, which has resulted in many of the original members sticking around for 11 years and counting.

And through marching in the Pittsburgh Pride Parade, participating in other events around town, and teaming up with the Penguins, word has really gotten out about what an amazing organization the Tigers are.

"Over the past three or so years, we've been getting to a point where people are coming to us and seeking us out," Marsico said. "People write to us all the time saying like, hey, we saw you advertised through the Penguins, we saw you had an open skate at the rink I play in."

Those open skates have been a particularly wonderful introduction into the Pittsburgh Tigers. They've hosted some at the Hunt Armory, and are really looking forward to their upcoming Pride Open Skate & Scrimmage, set for Saturday, June 17 at 3:30 PM at RMU Island Sports Complex.

The first 30 minutes will be an open skate, with no experience required, and members of the Tigers around for anyone wants help. The second half will be for people who feel confident on the ice and have hockey equipment (though the Tigers will have extra on hand for people interested in trying it on), with some stick and puck time followed by a beginner-friendly scrimmage.

Everyone is welcome, and it's particularly important to Knoezer and Marsico that they don't end up prioritizing gay white men over any other group that's part of the LQBTQ+ community, which can be the case in other queer leagues around the country.

"We are deliberate in our commitment to sort of embrace a wider spectrum of identity and making sure everybody feels comfortable," Knoezer said. "Because I don't want us to be one of those teams that's meant as a safe space, to reproduce the same exclusionary attitudes that led to them having to exist in the first place."

They also appreciate support from allies who are non-LGBTQ+, whether it's a simple gesture like using rainbow Pride tape, or actually coming and playing with the Tigers.

"So many people join our team because they want to support the cause, and they just find that we're a fun, positive team to play with, whereas other hockey teams are not," Marsico said.

Moving forward, the Tigers are planning to expand and hope to get at least one more team going, so that they can accommodate players at more of a beginner skill level in league play.

They also want to continue making an impact off the ice by making the most out of their partnership with the Penguins, along with organizing forums for representatives from other teams to discuss topics like how to address homophobic slurs during games.

"We appreciate the Penguins, and all of the effort that they're putting into this as well, because in a lot of ways, the Penguins are blazing that trail in terms of what that kind of partnership looks like between a local community and a sports organization," Knoerzer said.

"It's not lip service. It's not like, hey, I'm going to change my logo for a month and the rest of the year, you don't exist. That's one of the wonderful things about working with the Foundation, is the commitment to continue it throughout the year and continue to find ways to mutually benefit."