Norway’s beach handball team was fined last week after refusing to play in bikini bottoms -- and international pop star Pink is rallying behind the team for support.
The singer posted on social media over the weekend about how proud she was of the handball team for protesting the "sexist" uniforms and extended an offer to cover the costs.
“I’m VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR “uniform,” Pink wrote in a tweet before offering to pay the team’s fine and suggesting that the “handball federation should be fined for sexism.”
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The team wore elastic shorts during their bronze medal match against Spain in the 2021 European Beach Handball Championships on July 18 in protest of the regulation bikini-bottom design that the sport's Norwegian federation president called “embarrassing.”
They were fined 1,500 euros (about $1,768) for “improper clothing,” according to a statement from the European Handball Association's Disciplinary Commission.
While male handball players are allowed to play in shorts no longer than 4 inches above the knee, women are required to wear bikini bottoms, according to the International Handball Federation regulations.
The Norwegian team had petitioned from the start of the tournament to wear shorts, Norwegian Handball Federation President Kåre Geir Lio told NBC News. The European Handball Federation threatened the team with a fine or disqualification.
"It's not [appropriate clothing for] the activity when they are playing in the sand," Lio said. The women's team trains and competes in "what they want, like the boys" at home in Norway, but is subject to the International Handball Federation's clothing rules when playing abroad, he said.
