And I remember one day I was - a police officer got behind me and - oh, my God, I almost had a heart attack. And then here I am, I'm coming out here and just, you know, just trying to decompress. And I've kept my head on a swivel, you know. And I've lived there for over half my life. IRONS: It hasn't been the easiest because I've come from, you know, for lack of a better word, I come from a savage land. Like, how hard, how tough has it been getting on with a normal life? And after Jonathan was released in 2020, you both got married. But now, the time is flying.ĬHANG: Well, I mean, there was so much attention around your and Jonathan's story as it was happening. And that's where we have been now for the last almost 10 years and have that in marriage now for 2 1/2 years, which is crazy. And that respect and that affection, God wove it together to become a deep love. MOORE: We just developed a profound respect for each other. Like, we were locked on to each other at a heart level, you know. And we weren't going to turn and look away and go in a different direction. I think just knowing that we were both there for each other. And she was out dominating, taking championships left and right, you know, leaving horror to her opponents in the wake of her, you know, coming on the court. And I was fighting for my freedom and all these different things. And we made time to talk to each other because she had a busy life that she was involved in.Īnd I had a busy life that I was involved in, that basically I had to survive. We got to know each other's character and got to walk with each other and experienced - encouraging each other in low moments in our lives. And you just can't identify one brick out of the whole brick house that basically stood out, which also gives us a firm foundation because we got to know each other. And before you know it, you have a whole house. I think it was a kind of like building a brick house, you know, one brick at a time. And we just continued to grow our friendship.ĬHANG: And at what moment did that friendship turn into something a little more than friendship? And she looked me in the eyes and just - she didn't look away or shriek in fear or look at me like I was less than because I was very familiar with those looks and how that felt. And she was just such a warm, humble, inviting person. But in the visiting room, Maya walked in. IRONS: Yes, and just also interested in me as a person. And Maya's godparents, Cheri and Reggie Williams, they had been coming to see me every weekend for years at that point.ĬHANG: Because they were very interested in your case. IRONS: Well, I was in the prison visiting room. I want to step back a little because I so want to hear a bit more about how you and Jonathan first met. And I definitely do not plan on making one of those Michael Jordan comebacks.ĬHANG: You sound very peacefully resolved. It's really beautiful to be at this point where I'm so excited about this next chapter with getting a chance to have a rhythm that's more rooted at home and connected with my community and present for my family and getting a chance to, you know, raise our little boy together. And there's nothing more I could ask for for a basketball career. I just - I've been able to be a part of so many great teams and winning championships. MOORE: That would be something, right? No. Let's first of all put that on the record.ĬHANG: Now, I would become a basketball fan if that happened, if you were playing in your 80s. MOORE: I do not have a desire to play until I'm 80. Are you sure there is no come back, say, like, five years from now? And we're talking about a world where, like, Tom Brady is trying to play football until he's, like, 80 years old. She and Jonathan Irons join us now.ĬHANG: Hello. And this week, Maya Moore announced her retirement from basketball. That man is now free and he has become her husband. She was burned out, for one, but she also felt a calling to focus on the case of Jonathan Irons, a man serving a 50-year sentence for a crime we now know he did not commit. At the height of her career, Maya Moore announced that she was skipping the 2019 season. But listing off her accomplishments on the court only gives you a fraction of the story. I mean, it is the kind of career that lands you at the top of greatest-of-all-time lists. When it comes to basketball resumes, the resume of Maya Moore is pretty flawless - two national titles at the University of Connecticut, four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx, two Olympic gold medals.
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