MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA PRO
MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA FREE

Moore leaves behind a dominant and powerful WNBA legacy, one that will likely lead to her being inducted into the WNBA Hall of Fame in the near future. She said she wanted to be present at home and continue working with her non-profit. On Monday, Moore said she walked away from the WNBA four seasons ago, and was ready to officially announce her retirement. Moore opted to stay away from the game, and in July 2022, announced she and Irons had their first child.

At the time, Moore said she was unsure whether she would return for the 2021 WNBA season. She left the sport, following an extended break. But Moore left all of that behind after the 2018 WNBA season, at age 29 and in the prime of her career, to help longtime family friend Jonathan Irons get a 50-year prison sentence overturned.

MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA FREE

Irons spent 23 years in prison before Moore was able to free Irons in 2020.Ī few months later, Irons and Moore got married. In January of this year, WNBA star Maya Moore Irons announced she would be formally retiring from basketball. Maya Moore walked away from WNBA to free innocent man from prisonįollowing the 2018 WNBA season, Moore announced she would sit out the 2019 WNBA season to focus on her family and her non-profit, 'Win With Justice.' While Moore sat out, she dedicated herself to freeing Jonathan Irons, who was imprisoned at 16 on a wrongful conviction. In Moore's first seven seasons in the WNBA, the Lynx made it to the WNBA Finals six times. In eight years in the WNBA, Moore made six All-Star teams, was the 2014 MVP and won four championships with the Lynx. She was a star immediately, making the All-Star team and winning a championship during her rookie season. In 2011, the Lynx selected Moore with the No. 20 August 2020 Basketball Irons and Moore, pictured after his release from prison in July this year As Jonathan Irons emerged from prison, Maya Moore fell to her knees. She was a three-time Big East Player of the Year and was named the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player in 2010. Wooden Award twice and was a two-time AP College Player of the Year. During her time at UConn, Moore was named the Naismith College Player of the Year twice, won the John R. In college, she was a standout at the University of Connecticut, leading the team to two national championships. It's impossible to overstate Moore's basketball accomplishments. That's what I'm moving into.” /wEx7PZCvWr

MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA PRO

The teenager pleaded his innocence but the system failed him after the case stood in court - issues with identification were overlooked and a crucial fingerprint report eliminating Irons' DNA from the Stotler house was not submitted as evidence.LIVE ON WNBA star announces her retirement from pro basketball: “I want to continue to be present at home, for our community, and also doing work with our nonprofit. Irons was arrested after Stotler identified him as the shooter. In 1998, a 16-year-old Jonathan Irons was accused of burglary and the non-fatal shooting of a man named Stanley Stotler in the suburbs of St. She was faced with a decision that for her, had only one outcome - play basketball, or help free an innocent man from a 50-year prison sentence. With four WNBA championships, a league MVP award, and six-time WNBA All-Star appearances, to name just a few of her achievements, what could make one of the most iconic players of all time want to take a step back while in the form of her life?įor Moore, it was a no-brainer. The legendary Maya Moore, still in her prime, was sitting out of the upcoming WNBA season.

The Minnesota Lynx star stunned the world.

Maya moore return to wnba