American pro basketball player Maya Moore has tied the knot with Jonathan Irons, a prison inmate she helped to get released.
Irons was arrested and incarcerated on charges of assault and burglary, spending 23 years in prison.
However, in March 2020, his conviction was deemed wrongful and overturned, and he was subsequently freed from prison in July.
Much of the effort that went into his release was down to WNBA star Moore, who paused her basketball career on focus on getting Irons released.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Moore disclosed that she got married to Irons after his release from prison.
WNBA star Maya Moore married Jonathan Irons, a man she campaigned to free from prison.
Irons was convicted for a non-fatal shooting in 1997 by an all-white jury and sentenced to 50 years. He was 16. A judge overturned his case this year over indications the case was mishandled. pic.twitter.com/k60JKtB1cU
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 16, 2020
“We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work that we are doing together, but doing it as a married couple,” she said.
“We got married a couple of months ago and we’re excited to just continue this new chapter of life together.”
The couple met 12 years before Irons was sentenced to prison. Moore is one of the best WNBA players in history, having won two Olympic and two World Championship gold medals.
Asked whether she will return to the sport, the 31-year-old said: “I’m hoping sometime in the spring we’ll be able to have a next step moving forward.
Catch us tomorrow on @GMA with @RobinRoberts! #winwithjustice pic.twitter.com/0z1B1RRS2b
— Maya Moore (@MooreMaya) July 2, 2020
“Right now I am trying to really just breathe from this long, long battle and enjoy and rest.
“There’s a lot of unknowns for a lot of us right now so I’m still in that camp.”
