Pop star Pink joined a chorus of voices this weekend in support of the members of the Norwegian women’s beach handball team, who are campaigning to change “sexist” uniform rules.
Alecia Moore, who performs under the stage name “Pink” and is known for hits such as “Just Give Me a Reason,” tweeted in support of the team on Sunday, offering to pay fines it received earlier in the month for the players not wearing bikini bottoms in competition.
“I’m VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR ‘uniform,’” the singer tweeted. “The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies. I’ll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up.”
NORWAY WOMEN’S BEACH HANDBALL TEAM FINED FOR WEARING SHORTS INSTEAD OF BIKINI BOTTOMS
I’m VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR “uniform”. The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies. I’ll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up.
— P!nk (@Pink) July 25, 2021
On July 19, the federation fined the team $177 per member, a total of $1,770 for the team, for wearing shorts in its bronze medal-winning game against Spain in the European Beach Handball Championships in Bulgaria. Bottoms worn must have “a close fit and [be] cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,” the federation said.
The same rules that compel the women to wear bikini bottoms require men to wear shorts.
“The EHF acknowledges the position of the players involved and further steps towards change, in close coordination with the International Handball Federation, have been and are in motion,” federation President Michael Wiederer said in a statement on Monday, announcing that the fine paid by the Norwegian team was donated to an unnamed “major international sports foundation which supports equality for women and girls in sports.”
The issue received more global attention with the backdrop of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Germany’s female gymnastics team wore ankle-length unitards for their competition on Sunday, a move praised by star gymnast Simone Biles.
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Beach handball is not featured in the Summer Olympics, but there are teams competing in indoor handball, in which both men and women wear short-sleeved jerseys and shorts.
