Pink: I'll Pay Fines for Women's Team Over Shorts

Norway's 10-member female beach handball team recently incurred a fine for its choice of attire during a match, and the country's handball federation offered to pay it—though the latter group now has to wrestle with another big name that wants to pick up the tab. Singer Pink says she's willing to take care of the $175-per-player penalty, issued by the European Handball Federation after a July 18 game against Spain in which the Norwegian players wore snug shorts instead of their usual bikini bottoms. The women said they were more comfortable playing in shorts (check out a pic here) and asked for the OK before the match to wear them, but the EHF rejected that request. Instead, after the women went ahead and wore the shorts anyway, the EHF chastised the team for "improper clothing" and hit them with the fine, per Yahoo.

Per the International Handball Federation's rules, women players must wear bikini bottoms "with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg. The side width must be of a maximum of [4 inches]." The Independent notes that male players are allowed to wear shorts, provided they're no longer than 4 inches above the knee. Pink wasn't happy to hear about the discrepancy. "I'm VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR 'uniform,'" she tweeted on Saturday, adding that the EHF "SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM." The hubbub also attracted the attention of another big name—tennis icon Billie Jean King. "The men's team wears shorts," she tweeted last week. "The sexualization of women athletes must stop." (More Pink stories.)