Pink is offering to pay the Norwegian women’s beach handball team’s fine for wearing shorts
By Toyin Owoseje, CNN
Singer-songwriter Pink has offered to pay fines handed out to the Norwegian women’s beach handball team after they refused to wear bikini bottoms while competing.
Last week, the European Handball Federation (EHF) fined the team a total of €1,500 (around $1,765), asserting that the women competed in “improper clothing” by wearing shorts like their male counterparts during the 2021 European Beach Handball Championships.
On Sunday, Pink took to Twitter to lend her support to the team, saying the EHF should be fined “for sexism.”
The Grammy Award-winner told her 31.6 million followers: “I’m very proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team for protesting sexist rules about their ‘uniform’.”
She continued: “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.”
CNN has reached out to Pink’s representatives and the European Handball Federation for further comment.
The Norwegian women’s beach handball team showed their gratitude to the 41-year-old singer-songwriter, reposting her tweet on their Instagram story.
“Wow! Thank you so much for the support,” they wrote. Other posts on their official page show them posing together in their shorts.
According to International Handball Federation regulations, female players are required to wear bikini bottoms with a side width of a maximum of 10 centimeters (3.9 inches), with a “close fit” and “cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg.”
Their male counterparts must wear shorts that are “not too baggy” and 10 centimeters above the knee.
Eskil Berg Andreassen, the team’s coach, told CNN last week that the team was fighting for the freedom “to choose” its own kit, adding that IHF’s uniform regulations could discourage women from playing the sport.
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CNN’s Amy Woodyatt contributed reporting.
