Maya Moore Marries Jonathan Irons Who She Helped Beat Wrongful Conviction

Source: (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Women’s Sports Foundation) / (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Women’s Sports Foundation)

WNBA star Maya Moore announced that she would be stepping away from the league to the Player’s Tribune back in 2019. She did so while expressing that she had things in her heart to tend to, such as family and her dreams outside of basketball.

One of the main things she was fighting for was overturning the wrongful conviction of Jonathan Irons. Irons was tried for a crime he maintained he didn’t commit, by an all-white jury at the age of 16. He spent most of his life behind bars, until recently, when Maya’s help brought him home. Today the duo sat down with Good Morning America this week and dropped the surprising bombshell that the two of them got married.

“I wanted to marry her but at the same time protect her because being in a relationship with a man in prison, it’s extremely difficult and painful. And I didn’t want her to feel trapped and I wanted her to feel open and have the ability any time if this is too much for you, go and find somebody. Live your life. Because this is hard.”

“When I got out we were in the hotel room we had some friends in the room, it was winding down and we were extremely tired, but we were still gassed up on excitement,” Irons recalled. “It was just me and her in the room and I got down on my knees and I looked up at her and she kind of knew what was going on and I said, ‘will you marry me,’ she said, ‘yes.'”

The marriage wasn’t the only announcement from the couple, who also revealed ESPN will be partnering with them to produce a documentary about their story. Until then, they will continue their fight for social justice and educate as many people as possible.