THE LAST TIME I saw Maya Moore face-to-face, she was retreating behind a closing door in Jefferson City, Missouri, on March 9, 2020. It was a cold, rainy day, but the dreary weather could not drown out the joy in the courthouse. This was the day Moore had prayed for. This was the day she’d worked for since the ball stopped bouncing in her superstar basketball career some 18 months earlier. This was the day.
Jonathan Irons’ conviction for burglary and assault had just been vacated after he’d been in prison for more than two decades. It would be another four months before he’d walk out a free man, but on this day, the victory was exalting.
Moore had gathered with her family and Irons’ legal team in the library next to the courthouse. I stepped out to make a call and left my notebook in the room. When I went back to get it, the door was locked. Moore opened the door, looking at me expectantly because I was interrupting a meeting. After telling her I left my notebook, she handed it to me.
“You can ask me another question,” she said.
I had so many questions. What was it like the first time she met Jonathan when she visited him in prison before her freshman year at UConn? Was Irons on her mind when she and the Lynx spoke out against police brutality in 2016?…
