In January of 2020, WNBA start Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx announced that she would be sitting out the basketball season and the 2020 Olympics. Why? To fight for Jonathan Irons who Moore believes was wrongfully convicted of a crime and has been serving a 50-year sentence since 1998. Moore is the first basketball player of her stature to step away from the sport to fight for social change. Moore has won four WNBA titles, the 2014 WNBA MVP award, two Olympic gold medals, and two NCAA championships, among other accomplishments. Moore shared in an interview with TIME, “[Athletes] have so much influence in our culture. We feel so moved and want to use a voice to try to speak to justice and human issues.”
