meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Consider This from NPR

Retired WNBA Star Maya Moore And Her Husband Jonathan Irons Talk About Their Journey

Consider This from NPR

NPR

Society & Culture, Daily News, News, News Commentary

4.26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2023

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Maya Moore stepped away from her stellar basketball career to help free Jonathan Irons, a man who was incarcerated for over two decades on a wrongful conviction.

With the help of Moore and her family, Irons was exonerated and released from prison in 2020.

Over the course of working on his case, Moore and Irons developed a friendship that turned into love and the pair got married shortly after Irons was freed from prison.

This month, Moore officially retired from basketball to focus on her new family with Irons.

We speak with Moore and Irons about their journey together.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Maya Moore started playing basketball as a kid and she grew up to dominate the court

0:07.1

as a professional basketball player.

0:09.1

Moore will get it off the shot is gone!

0:12.6

Game three belongs to Maya Moore and Minnesota.

0:16.6

det creoHope wichtig, Benalia Moore, points to Maya Moore, how do you stop her?

0:42.6

In college, more one two national titles at the University of Connecticut. She was a WNBA champion

0:49.3

four times with the Minnesota links. And don't forget her two Olympic gold medals. I could go on,

0:56.4

but you get the point. Her accolades established her as one of the country's best professional

1:02.2

basketball players ever. Here's former president Obama in 2014 honoring the Minnesota links for

1:08.3

winning the 2013 WNBA championship, where he joked about how many times more had been at the

1:15.6

White House already to celebrate her many titles. You did it with fellow All-Star and finals MVP,

1:22.9

Maya Moore, who has now been here so many times, I've lost track. I mean, basically there's like a

1:28.8

Maya Moore wing in the White House. And when she comes, you know, we kind of, you know, we got all

1:37.2

her stuff here. She's got a toothbrush. A few years later, Moore stunned a lot of people when

1:44.8

she announced, arguably still at the height of her career, that she was skipping the 2019 WNBA season.

1:52.5

The day began with Twitter chatter that Maya Moore had made a decision, and by early afternoon,

1:57.3

Maya Moore ended the speculation and made it official. She will not be playing in the WNBA this season.

2:03.6

At the age of 29, she decided to put her basketball career on pause in order to help free a man from

2:12.6

prison. Hello, everyone. My name is Maya Moore, and I'm here to ask you to join me in demanding

2:19.9

a fair trial for Jonathan Irons, who has been wrongfully incarcerated since 1997.

2:26.7

Moore's family met Jonathan Irons through a prison ministry program back in 1999.

2:32.1

He was then serving a 50-year sentence for a crime. He had always said he did not commit. Irons,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.