TCU guard just fine now in own skin
For anyone who ever hated that they didn’t look like everybody else, listen to Jaylen Fisher.
Fisher is a sophomore point guard for TCU who was raised in Bolton, Tenn., about 30 miles from Memphis. He’s an albino, a condition that affects one in 20,000 people.
“I was first aware of it when I was around other kids,” Fisher said. “The question didn’t stand out until the question was repeatedly asked, and that’s when I thought, ‘Wait — I am kind of different.’ ”
Albinism is an inherited genetic condition that reduces the amount of pigment formed in the skin, hair and/or eyes, according to the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation.
People with albinism are expected to have normal lifespans. Vision problems are typically associated with albinism, and people with the condition are more sensitive to sun exposure.
Fisher said the only symptoms he has are his white skin and hair.
By the time he was a freshman in high school, he accepted that he simply does not look like his peers. At first glance, a lot of people think he’s white.
“Then they hear me talk,” Fisher said. “I really don’t know how I came about [being at peace with it]. I was so nervous going into high school. … I didn’t want to be the center of attention. I would just do what I do.”
Making the transition easier is the fact that Fisher has been an outstanding basketball player since he was a youngster. The guys who might make fun of him were not laughing when he lit them up on the court.
Before an AAU game in Arkansas, he heard an opposing player say, “They’ve got an albino — he can’t play!”
“I heard that and thought, ‘I’m fixin’ to kill this guy,’ ” he said. “It’s just a chip on my shoulder.”
Fisher is the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign with TCU. He has basically been a starter since he arrived.
“I do want to lay low,” Fisher said, “but how can you miss a black guy who is blond?”