Maya Moore Irons is a basketball icon – a 2x NCAA champion, 2x Olympic gold medalist, 4x WNBA champion, WNBA MVP, and 6x WNBA All-Star. After capturing back-to-back undefeated national championships in 2009 and 2010 at the University of Connecticut and captaining the team that set the NCAA record for most games won in a row, Maya was the NCAA Academic All-American of the Year and drafted No. 1 by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2011 WNBA Draft. In 2015, after winning her third WNBA title and being named MVP of the WNBA All-Star Game, Maya became the first pro athlete ever to notch three titles—Rookie of the Year, All-Star MVP, and League MVP—in only five seasons of play. In 2018, after winning her third consecutive All-Star MVP award, she shocked the world following that season when she walked away from the game.

Right before her freshman year at UConn, Maya was introduced to Jonathan Irons by family involved with prison ministry. The two forged a close friendship, grounded in their shared faith, and cultivated through their dedication to finding his freedom. In 2019, at the peak of her career, Maya decided to step away from basketball to focus solely on Jonathan’s case. After a winding, year-long effort, Jonathan was finally released in July of 2020. The next day, Jonathan proposed to Maya, and weeks later, they were married.

Maya was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2021 ESPYS, and the story of her fight for Jonathan’s freedom was told in the ESPN 30 for 30 film Breakaway. In 2023, Maya and Jonathan welcomed their first child, Jonathan, Jr (“JJ”) and published their joint memoir, LOVE AND JUSTICE. Together, Jonathan and Maya are dedicated to using their now shared platform and social action nonprofit, Win with Justice, to raise awareness and advocate for issues surrounding criminal justice reform, the important role district attorneys play in the judicial system, and the power of each individual to live out their purpose and effect change. In 2024, Moore was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class, and the Minnesota Lynx officially retired her jersey.

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