In January of this year, WNBA star Maya Moore Irons announced she would be formally retiring from basketball. She left the sport, following an extended break that began in 2019, as one of its most decorated players. In 2017, Moore Irons helped the Minnesota Lynx, her team since 2011, win its fourth WNBA title in seven years, and she counts two Olympic gold medals, six All-Star selections, and a string of MVP titles among her achievements. The star had been widely expected to return to the game, and her permanent departure came as a shock.
But off the court, the wrongful imprisonment of a man named Jonathan Irons had long hung over Moore Irons's head like a dark cloud. In 1997, at the age of 16, Irons was arrested for a burglary and assault he didn't commit, for which he would receive a sentence of 50 years. She met him at Missouri's Jefferson City Correctional Center in 2007, the summer before she was about to start college at the University of Connecticut, through a family member who led the prison's church choir, of which Irons was a member. Both devout Christians, the two connected over their faith. After getting the approval of Moore Irons's mother, they began to correspond via letters and phone calls, developing a friendship that, after six years, ultimately turned romantic.
In 2016, Moore Irons began using her platform to advocate for racial justice and legal reform, which led to her stepping back from basketball in 2019 to launch a sweeping campaign drawing attention to Irons's case. Her efforts tipped the scale: His convictions were overturned in March of 2020, 23 years after his initial arrest.
Nine days following his release that July, Irons and Moore Irons were married, and soon after, they welcomed their son, Jonathan Hughston Irons Jr., who is now one.
Denne historien er fra June - July 2023-utgaven av Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June - July 2023-utgaven av Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The STATES of REPRODUCTIVE Rights
The STORIES from a POST-RUE AMERICA are HARROWING and HARD TO BELIEVE. That's why we MUST LISTEN..
The Whole TORY
TWO DECADES in, TORY BURCH, the BRAND, is once again one of the most TALKED-ABOUT labels in FASHION because TORY BURCH, the WOMAN, did what she's ALWAYS DONE in times of uncertainty: BET on HERSELF.
The VANGUARDS
WHO DO YOU look up to when you're the one name-checked as the first, the best, the source of inspiration? That's the question everyone at the vanguard of things contemplates at one time or another.
Like NO OTHER
She BROKE BARRIERS and REWROTE the RULES. Fell DOWN, got back UP, and did it all in NINE-INCH HEELS. This is NAOMI CAMPBELL.
WHEN in ROME
REDISCOVER the ETERNAL CITY through a slew of NEW properties that OOZE SPREZZATURA
ICONS Only
What makes an OUTFIT live on in HISTORY? Which outfits CHANGED the way we THINK about GETTING DRESSED? Bazaar assembled a team of EXPERTS to determine the 25 MOST ICONIC LOOKS of all time.
The LEGACY of LIZ TILBERIS
In honor of OVARIAN CANCER Awareness Month, CHRIS TILBERIS recalls the work of his late mother, who ushered in a new GOLDEN AGE for Harper's Bazaar in the '90s while waging her own BATTLE with the disease.
NATASHA LYONNE, CARRIE COON, and ELIZABETH OLSEN on challenging AUDIENCES-and EXPECTATIONS-in Hollywood
There are actors, and then there actors-the type of performers who bring a life and vitality to each and every role, no matter how small or large, and routinely take on gutsy projects that inspire extraordinary devotion and passionate defenses.
THE PEOPLE and IDEAS SHAPING the CULTURE - CLOSE Encounters
In the first edition of his new column, THE DISPATCH, DEREK BLASBERG talks to GLENN CLOSE about LONGEVITY, OSCARS, and her most ICONIC roles—and why it's always important to DRESS the PART
What Are You Wearing?- Activist Amanda Nguyen on turning that question into a rallying cry for survivors of sexual assault everywhere
Activist Amanda Nguyen on turning that question into a rallying cry for survivors of sexual assault everywhere. Walking down the runway in a custom dress designed by artists Suzanne McClelland and Alix Pearlstein and adorned with the text of the Survivors' Bill of Rights, I was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Alongside me were other survivors and allies, while ambassadors from the United Nations, diplomats, policymakers, and influencers all came to watch.
