'It's good to know you are not alone': A’ja Wilson reveals her battle with dyslexia

In a touching and personal essay posted to The Players' Tribune on Saturday, South Carolina women's basketball star A'ja Wilson revealed that she has struggled with dyslexia, a common learning disability, hiding her battle for years from her friends and teammates.

However, with the help of her family, academic advisers and coach Dawn Staley, Wilson said she has learned to effectively manage the condition, which causes her to struggle to read.

Wilson said she has struggled with reading since she was a child, but only was diagnosed as a sophomore at Heathwood Hall. After that, her parents and teachers knew, she said, but she purposefully avoided letting her peers know.

"It was pretty hard to hide, but I did a pretty good job. Like, if I’d go to eat with teammates after a basketball game I’d always try and make sure we went to a place where I wouldn’t have to read off a new menu and embarrass myself in front of everybody," Wilson wrote.

Staley knew, though, and in Wilson's sophomore year, she said, the coach began asking her to read scripture before games, a challenge she at first dreaded but came to appreciate over time.

"I’m serious when I say that everything changed after that reading started," Wilson wrote.

On Sunday, Staley explained why she asked Wilson to do that.

"I try to hit my challenges head-on, and I try to bring that type of mentality to our players. I think A'ja, in dealing with dyslexia, you always think that you're less than; you always think you're a little bit different than everybody else because you don't pick up on things as quickly. Your processes are just a little bit different," Staley said.

"She is a beacon of hope for someone else, a beacon of hope not just as a talented, skilled basketball player, but also as someone that deals with dyslexia every day."

Of course, it's not as though those scripture readings cured Wilson of her dyslexia. Even now, Wilson said, she needs to focus especially hard during games when Staley is drawing up a play during timeouts.

But sharing the burden with her teammates and coaches changed her outlook and brought the team closer together, both Wilson and Staley said.

"She made mistakes at times, and A'ja will tell you that she laughs at a lot of mistakes that she makes when it comes to dyslexia, and we laugh with her," Staley said. "But we also are there to encourage her to continue."

Wilson herself opened up even further Sunday about why she chose to reveal her struggle now and what impact she hopes it will have.

"It's lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders for people to understand, and I think it's a great feeling because it now shows people I am still human," Wilson told reporters.



"I think people tend to get caught up in the Basketball A'ja and not understand that there's a whole other side that they have never really seen or met before. I think it's a great feeling for people to now understand that it's real. It's real, such as mental illness, such as a learning disability.



"Some people out here, they don't have a clue what we go through. So to show that side of me and have people see a different look and always see there's a different side to a student athlete, I think it's something good. I see the tweets of people who say they go through it as well, and it's also good to know that you are not alone in it."

This story was originally published March 24, 2018 at 4:04 PM with the headline "'It's good to know you are not alone': A’ja Wilson reveals her battle with dyslexia."