Inside the Mind of a Champion: A'ja Wilson talks pressure to perform

COLUMBIA, SC (WACH) — COLUMBIA, S.C (WACH) – From athletes performing through the pandemic to tough talks about mental health, it’s been a groundbreaking year in sports.

This now global conversation about athlete’s mental space took root after professional tennis star Naomi Osaka and highly decorated world champion Simone Biles pulled out of major events, including some in the Olympics. Professional basketball champion and native of Columbia, Aja Wilson is also part of the conversation.

Wilson opened up to WACH FOX News Anchor Samantha German about her struggles with anxiety, depression and dyslexia.

“I was hiding a lot of stuff. I would after games go back to my room and cry my eyes out. We just won and I’m crying my eyes out, because I feel like I’m not doing enough. I feel like I’m not being me. I feel like I’m not giving enough," said Wilson. "I constantly was just in that hole, in that hole and when that buzzer went off in the finals and we got swept, that’s when it just all came down on me.”

Wilson says losing in the WNBA finals this year and coming out of “the bubble” - a place where the league lived and played the entire season in one location – led to her battle with self-neglect.

“It was really hard for me to come to grips on who I am and just figuring myself out," said Wilson. "It’s hard. Especially when you’re going and you’re going non-stop. It’s hard to kind of sometimes take a step back and say, ‘Wow, I’m not good right now.’”

Not paying attention to herself, constantly worrying about the next person and everything going on around her, Wilson says she forgot about A’ja.

She dealt with something similar in high school after she found out she had a learning disability.

“I had dyslexia. I didn’t even understand how to comprehend it,” said Wilson. “I’m this high school player that everyone loves. Everyone’s trying to figure out where I was going to go to school, and people are going to think, ‘Oh, she can’t read. Oh, she can’t do this.’ It was a cripple for me. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me.”

Having honest conversations with her parents and then in later years having people in her corner like USC’s Women’s Head Basketball Coach Dawn Staley is why Wilson says she’s now so open about her mental health journey.

Staley had her read scripture in front of her college teammates before games played a significant role as well.

“I was just like, ‘Man she’s like embarrassing me. She knows I’m going to slip up on some words or stutter or stop.’ But, it kind of helped me later on down the road,” said Wilson. “That really helped me get my confidence back.”

But, feelings of anxiety and depression came back in her professional career when Wilson says she had to deal with losing her grandmother, a woman she describes as selfless who always asked, ‘How can I help?’

So, the first time Wilson stood in front of her own statue outside of Colonial Life Arena, a place where her grandmother, at Wilson’s age, was not allowed to be because of segregation, it was a moment she says will never be lost on her.

“My grandmother was really planting seeds for me now,” said Wilson. “Now, it’s my turn to plant seeds. Not just for my future children, but for the next generation.”

Planting the seeds all while growing through what you go through, all Wilson’s words on turning her weakness into strength. Wilson is now setting boundaries and embodying her grandmother’s spirit to uplift young women coming behind her on the court.

“It’s for that next young, black girl that’s bringing her basketball to the statue that’s like, ‘I want to be like her.’ That right there is my why," said Wilson. "That is the reason why I have to continue to be who I am through and through.”

Wilson says if she didn’t have parents willing to hear her out, she would still be battling her mental health issues. But, because her parents understood and truly saw what was going on - they were able to get her the help she needed.

Wilson says that’s why she formed the A’ja Wilson Foundation. She says the foundation is not just helping children with dyslexia, but it’s also helping families and support systems - learning, growing and going through together.