Saroya Tinker: Inclusion Rider

Determined, diligent, and deliberately inclusive is what makes Ice Hockey star Saroya Tinker an inclusive rider. 

The defensemen of the National Women’s Hockey League’s Toronto Six always wanted to play professional hockey growing up in Oshawa, Canada dabbling in various sports such as Badminton, Basketball, Curling, Lacrosse, Soccer, Track and Field, and ultimate Frisbee, before ultimately settling on her national pastime.

She went onto to Yale University and excelled on the ice by scoring 32 points in 122 games played during her four years.

(Courtesy: Yale Athletics)

Saroya was drafted by the NWHL’s Metropolitan Riveters in 2020 before signing with Toronto this June.

(Courtesy: The Hockey Writers)

It was during this time amidst the worldwide reckoning on race after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmad Arbery that she began to find her voice and became an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the world of hockey.

She has been outspoken against racism and has not been shy about sharing her opinions and experiences in a variety of settings.

Now she is continuing to amplify her platform by launching a new podcast entitled Shut Up and Play that will talk about athlete activism beginning July 13th.

I had the chance to talk with Saroya about a number of topics including her activism, her hockey career, her hopes for the next generation, what she does in her spare time, and how much of a hip-hop head she is.

Obviously, with everything that has been going on this past year, what has it been like for you to lead the charge on diversity and inclusion in the world of Hockey?

I didn’t expect to take on that role when I was drafted. I knew what my own thoughts and beliefs were in terms of my career and I thought it was about time to make change for the girls behind me. I have done a lot of speaking out, a lot of interviews, a lot of podcasts and I do like to speak out on behalf of the league in terms of what we do in terms of diversity and inclusion. So I think I have had a great time being able to educate and empower other women so I think that’s the goal and what I am enjoying currently.

(Courtesy: USA Today)

What has it been like since the launch of the NWHL seeing little by little the sport starting to grow and gain traction?

I think it’s awesome. It’s so encouraging too. Growing up, I wanted to play professional hockey but I knew that it wasn’t really going to be an opportunity for me to get paid doing it, but now we see that as an opportunity and I think that is awesome for the younger girls. Although we may not make a living wage in our league right now, by the time the girls I mentor and my younger girls I talk to on a regular basis, by the time they get to that level they’ll be able to make a living wage. I think the furthering the NWHL does each year it really goes to show how much women’s hockey has improved and become more popular. So I am excited to see the younger girls and the next generation take full charge of this league.

Given everything you do and work on in addition to your hockey career, what do you do to keep yourself grounded and in a positive state of mind?

It is definitely difficult at times but my go-to is painting. I paint a lot and I like to kind of use that as my outlet. I obviously sell my paintings as well but painting is something that comes naturally to me and puts me in a headspace where I can just forget about everything that’s going on in the outside world. That is what I do to keep myself grounded along with working out, nutrition, and all those good things but painting is really my outlet.

Is there a specific approach you like to take with painting?

I paint with oil paint on canvass. I have painted some of my favorite artists like Tupac, Lauryn Hill, Eazy-E. I like doing that and I also like to paint female body figures as well. I struggled a lot with body image growing up and throughout college and honestly, I still do to this day. So in that sense, I like to paint these figures just to show the imperfections but perfection that ends up being in the final piece in my painting and showing different bodies and showing that everyone is beautiful.

You mentioned painting Tupac, Lauryn Hill, and Eazy-E, I take it that you are into old-school Hip Hop right?

Yeah for sure. I’m a 90s baby and my parents are also very young so they were always listening to music throughout the house and I think that just carried on with me. I say I am an old soul but definitely love that Tupac and Lauryn Hill era for sure.

As the season is starting back up in October, what are your goals on the ice and off the ice?

I am definitely excited to get going with my new team but I think for myself I want to be that top defensemen. I want to provide for my team with that security on the back-end, but also be able to use my offensive skills to score goals and partner up with Bucky and get her rolling too. In that sense, I look forward to being an impact on the team and playing strong defense. From a personal standpoint, continuing doing what I am doing and speaking out on what I believe in and furthering the diversity and inclusion in hockey we see today, and make sure that hockey is for everyone.

What would your advice be to this younger generation of athletes who want to speak up but maybe are reluctant to speak up out of fear of being ostracized or not being able to get opportunities?

I think for myself my journey revolved around loving myself. Unfortunately, I only began to really understand what that meant to come my senior year of college. I think if I fully loved myself earlier I would have been unapologetically me and stand up for the things I really wanted to stand up for my whole career, not just this past year. My advice to the younger generation is to be unapologetically you and just to continue to speak your truth and that there are people out there that are like you, that will relate to you. As cornered or as alone you may feel, there are other people out there experiencing similar things that can help you as well and help you love yourself and be unapologetically you.

And if I can merge Tupac and Lauryn Hill, that is the education of Saroya Tinker calling on us as a people to start making some changes.

Be sure to catch Shut Up and Play at https://www.shutupandplaypodcast.com/