Gamecock legend A’ja Wilson and her shoes given moment at SC State House

In a State House with a typically strict dress code, a lawmaker sported Gamecock legend A’ja Wilson’s sneakers on the floor Wednesday.

State Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, honored Wilson, a former women’s basketball star at the University of South Carolina, for Women’s History Month on the Senate floor. Coincidentally, it was also the day lawmakers could wear sneakers for cancer awareness.

“She has become a powerful voice for young women and girls, especially young Black girls, reminding them their dreams are valid, their voices matter and their greatness belongs on the biggest stages in the world,” Matthews said.

Matthews showed off her A’One Nike sneakers with the Wilson emblem. She recounted her initial attempt to purchase the shoes of “one of the greatest players in the history of the game.”

Matthews said she went to an NCAA Final Four game and joined a line to purchase Wilson’s bright pink sneakers. But all the shoes had already been sold ahead of time.

“Girls had wrapped the building, they said, at 5 o’clock that morning, so I went at 9,” Matthews said. “Boy did I look stupid.”

“All you saw in the arena was little girls with those bright pink sneakers, all around the arena,” she continued. “From Iowa fans, to whatever, they were all there for our own A’ja Wilson.”

Wilson grew up in Hopkins and played for the University of South Carolina from 2014 to 2018, leading the team to an NCAA championship in 2017. She was picked first in the WNBA draft in 2018 and plays for the Las Vegas Aces, who won three championships in four years with Wilson on the team. Wilson is also a four-time WNBA MVP.

Matthews, a Gamecock alum herself, told lawmakers to congratulate Roscoe Wilson, her father, for making the state look good.

“That’s really not his name,” state Sen. Ronnie Sabb, Williamsburg, teased. “His name is A’ja’s daddy.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 1:05 PM.