WNBA Icon Maya Moore Is Leaving The Court For Good To Focus On Criminal Justice Reform

WNBA icon Maya Moore is formally leaving basketball behind, a blow to followers who appeared ahead to her returning to the court docket.

Moore was drafted to the Minnesota Lynx in 2011. She went on to win 4 WNBA championships and two Olympic gold medals with the USA Basketball crew. Previous to her profitable skilled profession, Moore performed 4 years in school, successful two NCAA titles. Moore made historical past as the primary feminine participant signed by Jordan Model.

Whereas a dominating pressure within the league, Moore has lent her superstar to causes off the court docket, similar to rising salaries for girls’s gamers. In 2018, on the peak of her profession, Moore determined to step away from basketball to give attention to prison justice reform. Her countless work helped exonerate Jonathan Irons, a person who was wrongly convicted at age 16 of taking pictures a white home-owner regardless of no DNA or bodily proof linking him to the crime. The two would finally fall in love and wed in 2020 within the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2022, they welcomed a son collectively. Whereas many have held out hope that Moore would finally play once more, she has confirmed that she’s beginning a brand new chapter.

“It’s time to put a close to the pro basketball life,” she informed Good Morning America. “I walked away four seasons ago, but I wanted to officially retire.”

Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx proprietor Glen Taylor recommended Moore in a press release following her retirement information. He’s sure her affect will reside on for generations of gamers to return.

Moore’s subsequent part in life will encompass specializing in her household and persevering with the neighborhood work that she has grown to like so passionately.