While the Olympics are always exciting, the 2020 games had a bit of a deflating start when the Norwegian women’s beach handball team was slapped with a 1,500 euro fine by the European Handball Federation for wearing spandex shorts instead of bikini bottoms during the team’s bronze medal match at the European Beach Handball Championships.
Yeah, in 2021.
European Handball Federation rules state that female athletes must wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg, and the side width must be of a maximum of 10 centimeters”. As you can imagine, their male counterparts aren’t equally affected, and are allowed to wear shorts.
There controversy has sparked countless important conversations about how male athletes are treated in comparison to women, and fans all around the world agree that the playing field should be fair, no matter your gender.
Now, a big name is stepping up to help out.
Today, recording artist and activist P!nk tweeted that she’d be willing to pay any fines the team receives, and that the rules are rules are inherently sexist.
We love to see people using their platform to make a difference, and some updates to the rules are definitely past due at the Olympics.
