Former WNBA star Maya Moore announces birth of child with husband she helped free from prison

Former WNBA star Maya Moore and husband Jonathan Irons revealed that they extended their family by welcoming a baby boy, Jonathan Jr., in February, the couple announced on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.

Moore and Irons were married in 2020, shortly after Irons was freed after spending 23 years in prison. Irons’ story went viral after his 1998 conviction was overturned in March 2020, with the support of Moore and her family.

She told the GMA crew that she is ecstatic over the opportunity to become a mother and extremely excited to be sharing this moment with Irons.

“Delivering JJ was one of the proudest days of my life. Witnessing Jonathan be a Father, priceless.” Moore said via her Instagram account.

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Moore, who won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx as well as league MVP in 2014, put her decorated career on hold in 2019 to advocate for the release of Irons for wrongful conviction.

In 1998, the then-16-year-old Irons was tried and convicted as an adult for a burglary and shooting at the home of Stanley Stotler, who survived the crime after being shot in the right temple and right arm. He was sentenced to 50 years. Police did not discover any fingerprints, DNA or blood that could link Irons to the crime.

“It was hard (to walk away), but when your convictions are moving you to a place that you know is right and you’re moving into something that’s really meaningful,” Moore said on NBC Nightly News in 2020. “It makes it a little less hard.”

The two met through a prison ministry she became involved in with extended family in Missouri while she was playing for Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies. Moore and Irons built a strong friendship, while Moore learned the details of his case.

In March 2020, a Missouri judge said the case against Irons was “very weak and circumstantial at best” in a court order. The lead prosecutor declined to retry his case and Irons was ultimately freed.

Moore and Irons appeared on “Good Morning America” in September 2020 to reveal that they had gotten married.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maya Moore welcomes baby with now-husband she helped free from prison