Moore not ready to return to the court just yet
UConn legend Maya Moore acknowledged Wednesday on “Good Morning America” that she’s not ready to return to the WNBA.
Moore, a four-time WNBA champion and former MVP, took the last two seasons off from basketball to pursue criminal justice reform.
ABC’s Robin Roberts interviewed Moore and her husband, Jonathan Irons, 41, the wrongly convicted man she helped free from prison last year. When asked if she’s thinking about returning to basketball, Moore, 31, said her focus remains elsewhere at the moment.
“This journey has been quite wild,” Moore said. “I’m still trying to take that time to really get settled. We just got married. I’m still planning on taking some rest and really just leaning into this season of enjoying Jonathan and having this full year.”
Irons’ conviction was overturned last March after a judge ruled prosecutors suppressed fingerprint evidence that would have strengthened his defense. He was released from the Jefferson City (Missouri) Correctional Center on July 1.
Earlier this week, Irons filed a civil lawsuit against the authorities that investigated his case. He had been sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1998 on burglary and assault charges when he was 16.
“I am not the only person that this has happened to,” he said. “This lawsuit is about publicly exposing what has happened to me, sharing the truth, and creating public awareness. And hopefully creating a deterrent to stop this from happening to someone else.”
The couple is continuing to fight for reform through their platform, Win With Justice.
“The way you change things is one person at a time, one community at a time, one story at a time, making justice more about restoring things than just paying penalties,” Moore said. “And so that’s what we’re really after, redefining what a win is in our justice system.”
An ESPN 30-for-30 documentary chronicling the couple’s journey is set to premiere later this week.
Moore, a six-time all-star, last played in the WNBA in 2018. She averaged 18.0 points per game and was named MVP of the All-Star Game for the third time. Her 4,984 career points rank 23rd all-time.
At UConn, Moore won two NCAA titles, was a four-time Associated Press All-American, and scored a school-record 3,036 points. She was selected first overall by Minnesota in the 2011 WNBA Draft.