JONATHAN IRONS, whose bid for freedom from a 50-year prison sentence was "embraced and pushed" by WNBA Minnesota Lynx F MAYA MOORE, "walked out of a Missouri penitentiary on Wednesday, nearly four months after a judge overturned his conviction on charges of burglary and assault," according to Kurt Streeter of the N.Y. TIMES. Irons was met by Moore, her family, and other supporters who "hugged him and cheered outside the Jefferson City Correctional Center." It is the culmination of a yearslong effort by his supporters to win his freedom, a campaign that "factored in a decision by Moore last year to forego playing in the WNBA at the peak of her success." Moore's family "met Irons through prison ministry," and she and Irons "formed a close, siblinglike bond" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/1).
CYCLICAL INSPIRATION: The AP's Doug Feinberg notes Moore's former UConn teammates and Atlanta Dream players RENEE MONTGOMERY and TIFFANY HAYES are "following Moore's example with both deciding to take the upcoming WNBA season off to help with social justice reform and voter registration." Both players "credit Moore's decision to put her career on hold ... for inspiration." UConn coach GENO AURIEMMA "has been impressed by what many of his former players are accomplishing off the court." Montgomery, Moore and Hayes "credit Auriemma for helping guide them, even long after graduation." He was "one of the first calls that Montgomery and Moore made when they were deciding whether to take time away from basketball" (AP, 7/2).
