Reggio Emilia, 26 October 2025 – They will be dand the phenomena to put a ball in a 45 centimeter basket in diameter, a little less to park the car in the right stalls. Two players from Pallacanestro Reggiana in fact, they have the bad habit of putting their car in the spaces reserved for disabled people (well recognizable because it is branded with the coat of arms and sponsors of the company that makes the vehicle available to them) without obviously having the right to do so.
The citizen Khadija Lamami reported the incident who documented everything with several photos, pinching cars in the historic center. She, who instead is in regular possession of a ‘blue’ permit to park in the stalls due to some problems that caused her to become disabled three years ago, does not make it so much a question – albeit an important one – of the subtraction of a right owed to her, but a sacrosanct battle of principle.
“I find it intolerable that just who enjoys a healthy bodythose who by profession embody the very idea of strength, discipline and respect, allow themselves such a disfigurement – comments Khadija – Those who represent the values of sport, a team, a community of fans, an entire city, should know better than anyone else what respect means: respect for the rules, respect for others, respect for limits, their own and those of others. Park in a space reserved for people with disabilities It’s not a distraction. It is a violent gesture in its banality (the banality of evil…), a small arrogance that tells of a world where those who can walk freely too often forget those who cannot. And this is precisely why it hurts more: because responsibility is expected from those who should set an example, not arrogance disguised as frivolity.”
Let it be Of several episodes extended over time, in addition to the reports provided to us by Khadija – who also made a post on Instagram tagging Pallacanestro Reggiana – we were able to document it ourselves. The writer, for two evenings in a row in recent days, saw with his own eyes and photographed an athlete’s car, left in one of the disabled stalls in via Sessi, behind Palazzo Busetti and the former Bank of Italy. Another flaw: there are no fines despite reports to the local police. The question arises spontaneously: are there few controls or some awe towards a Serie A sports club?
And by the wayit’s not the first time. In April 2024, Khadija surprised another basketball player’s car in the historic center and wrote on the Pallacanestro Reggiana Instagram profile. The club replied to her like this: “We have already moved the car. Thank you very much for the report, it was a thoughtlessness of one of our players who apologises.”
Almost perfect replica if it weren’t for the later addition with a jarring ‘alibi’. “Lightness intended for the fact that sometimes, explaining how road signs and parking lots work to American kids who have never been to Europe is not easy. It wasn’t done deliberately and it won’t happen again…”.
In shortin the United States there are stalls dedicated to disabled people. They may also be painted differently than in Italy, but it seems really difficult to misunderstand a symbol of a person in a wheelchair on signs or stripes…
The fact is that the habit was repeated this year. The company, regarding the recent episodes, makes it known that “the athlete in question (even if in reality there are two different cars as seen in the photo above, ndr) has already been reprimanded. And the meaning of the signs was explained to him, as well as where to park. For Americans, it’s not easy between permits, restricted traffic zones and European rules…”.
Let’s relaunch a proposal: but what if the company simply apologized and invited wheelchair basketball players to a training session to make amends…?
