\n
Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Maya Moore, who <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2020\/01\/23\/maya-moore-skip-another-wnba-season-while-trying-help-free-man-prison\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2\" rel=\"noopener\">stepped away<\/a> from a thriving WNBA career to help <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2020\/07\/02\/maya-moore-jonathan-irons\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2\" rel=\"noopener\">free a man<\/a> she felt was unjustly imprisoned, formally confirmed her retirement from the sport Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI think it\u2019s time to put a close to the pro basketball life,\u201d Moore, in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/video\/maya-moore-jonathan-irons-talk-new-book-love-96456825\" rel=\"noopener\">an appearance<\/a> on \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d said while accompanied by the man, Jonathan Irons, who is now her husband and the father of their young child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI walked away four seasons ago, but I wanted to officially retire,\u201d Moore, 33, continued. \u201cThis is such a sweet time for us and our family. The work we\u2019ve done, I want to continue that in this next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\"><a target=\"_blank\" data-qa=\"interstitial-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2020\/03\/18\/maya-moore-left-basketball-court-criminal-justice-reform-she-is-seeing-results\/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_6\" rel=\"noopener\">From 2020: Maya Moore left the basketball court for criminal justice reform. She is seeing the results.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The No. 1 pick in the 2011 WNBA draft after a stellar career at Connecticut, Moore was named an all-star six times through 2018, when she last played. In that span, she also led the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA titles, set franchise records in a number of categories and was named the league\u2019s 2011 rookie of the year and its 2014 MVP. Moore also helped Team USA win gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/olympics?itid=lk_inline_manual_7\" class=\"contextual_link\" rel=\"noopener\">Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cMaya Moore has forever left a mark on the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota Lynx franchise and the hearts of Lynx fans everywhere,\u201d Lynx owner Glen Taylor said in a statement Monday. \u201cMaya\u2019s accolades are numerous; her leadership and talent both fearless and inspirational set the foundation for the most exciting and historic championship run in the league from 2011-2017. While today culminates Maya\u2019s basketball career, there is no doubt she will continue to impact the game we all love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Moore\u2019s college career was arguably even more impressive than her stint in the pros. A two-time Naismith Player of the Year, she went 150-4 with the Huskies over four seasons that included two national championships and four appearances in the Final Four.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cThe love that Maya had for the game, the way she played the game, the passion that she played the game with \u2014 you don\u2019t walk away from that nonchalantly,\u201d Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lilabbromberg\/status\/1615050863042564098\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Monday. \u201cI\u2019m sure this was a very difficult decision for her and her family. At the same time, to be able to make this decision says to me that she is so committed to the life and family that she\u2019s built and the causes she\u2019s fighting for now. \u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIt\u2019s great that Maya was able to walk away on her own terms at the top of her game while she was still a champion,\u201d Auriemma continued. \u201cShe decided that winning championships off the court was more fulfilling than the championships she won on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Moore met Irons in 2007, when he was a decade into a 50-year prison sentence handed to him after the nonfatal shooting of a homeowner in the St. Louis area. At the time, she was a high-schooler participating in a youth ministry program. Moore came to conclude that Irons, who was arrested at 16 and placed behind bars in 1997, was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct. In March 2020, his conviction was overturned by a judge after his lawyers argued there was no evidence corroborating the homeowner\u2019s testimony that Irons broke into his home and committed the assault, with the judge also noting that a relevant fingerprint report was not disclosed to Irons\u2019s original defense team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Irons was released from prison in July 2020, and he and Moore <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2020\/09\/16\/maya-moore-marries-jonathan-irons\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_18\" rel=\"noopener\">got married<\/a> a few months later. They welcomed <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/wnba-star-maya-moore-baby-now-husband-helped-86230515\" rel=\"noopener\">a baby boy<\/a> into the world in February 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In her GMA appearance Monday, Moore said that while her basketball career was ending, her activism would not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI want to continue to be present at home,\u201d she said, \u201cfor my community, for my family, our little baby, for Jonathan \u2014 but also doing work with Win with Justice, our nonprofit, to continue to raise awareness about prosecutorial reform and how we can have safer and healthier communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement that Moore\u2019s on-court accomplishments were \u201cindicative of the type of rare, generational talent Maya brought to this league, but perhaps her greatest legacy will be what she accomplished beyond the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cHer staunch advocacy for change to the criminal justice system through her \u2018Win With Justice\u2019 project elevated her impact to new heights,\u201d Engelbert said, \u201cand her work has and will continue to inspire her fans around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiSWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvMjAyMy8wMS8xNi9tYXlhLW1vb3JlLXJldGlyZXMtd25iYS_SAQA?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Comment on this story Comment Maya Moore, who stepped away from a thriving WNBA…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36309,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36307\/revisions\/36309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}