WNBA star Maya Moore’s quest to see Jonathan Irons walk free from Missouri’s Jefferson City Correctional Center was realized on Wednesday.
Moore, who put her WNBA career with the Minnesota Lynx on hold in 2019 to help Irons have his conviction for burglary and assault with a weapon overturned, was among those who greeted Irons outside the prison. She clapped as Irons approached a group of people waiting for his release. She then dropped to her knees at one point before joining a group hug around Irons.
Moore posted video of the moment on Instagram.
“I feel like I can live life now,” Irons said on the video, thanking Moore and her family. “I’m free, I’m blessed, I just want to live my life worthy of God’s help and influence.”
Moore, who was born in Jefferson City, met Irons when she visited the correctional center before her freshman year at UConn after seeing her godfather, Reggie Williams, reviewing legal documents regarding Irons’ case, according to The New York Times.
“In that moment, I really felt like I could rest,” Moore said Thursday on “Good Morning America” about Irons’ release from prison. “I’d been standing, and we’d been standing, for so long; and it was an unplanned moment where I just felt relief. It was kind of a worshipful moment, just dropping to my knees and just being so thankful that we made it.”
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