January 17, 2023
Ex-WNBA Player Maya Moore Irons Announces Retirement from League Amidst Book Release
Although she hasn’t played in the WNBA for several years, Maya Moore Irons announced her retirement from the league amid the release of her new book.
On Jan. 17, Moore Irons and her formerly-imprisoned husband, Jonathan Irons, released a memoir titled Love & Justice: A Story of Triumph on Two Different Courts. The book has finally been released since Moore revealed the cover last year on her Instagram account.
“Thrilled to share the cover of our book LOVE & JUSTICE: A STORY OF TRIUMPH ON TWO DIFFERENT COURTS, available January 17, 2023. You can pre-order now and share in our journey of faith and our pursuit of justice. @andscape @DisneyBooks https://books.disney.com/book/love-and-justice/.”
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WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, released a statement pertaining to her retirement on Monday.
“We are immensely grateful for the eight incredible seasons Maya Moore gave to the WNBA and to fans of women’s basketball everywhere. Her four WNBA championships, six All-Star selections, an MVP award and a Finals MVP trophy are indicative 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. Her staunch advocacy for change to the criminal justice system through her ‘Win With Justice’ project elevated her impact to new heights, and her work has and will continue to inspire her fans around the world. We wish the best for Maya and her family in the future.”
Moore Irons made a bold decision several years ago to help fight for the freedom of the man she is now married to, Irons.
In 2020, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that the WNBA small forward had opted to sit out a second season to fight for the release of Jonathan Irons. She believed that he was wrongfully convicted of burglary and assault. According to Good Morning America, she married him after he was released from prison.
The couple appeared on Good Morning America on Monday to discuss the book and what led to them getting married.
She told the morning program about leaving the sport she loved so she could help release an innocent man from prison. Irons had been in prison for 23-and-a-half years.
“Because our story happened over so many years — reading it all together it was extremely overwhelming. In the journey and the fight you’re trying to do it one day at a time. To read it all together it made me appreciate and be more inspired by Jonathan’s life and how God put this all together, how it wove together, it blows my mind.”
Moore Irons won four WNBA championships while playing with the Minnesota Lynx and brought home an MVP trophy in 2014. She used the forum to publicly announce her decision to leave the game of basketball as a player.
“I think it is time to put a close to the pro basketball life. I walked away four seasons ago, but I wanted to officially retire,” she stated. “This is such a sweet time for us and our family and the work that we’ve done; I want to continue that in this next chapter. I want to continue to be present at home, for our community, and also doing work with our nonprofit — hangin’ it up.”