One knows that they have had a memorable 2020 when they find their name on several “Best of 2020” lists in a year where “best” may not always be the most apt description of said year.
But that is what happens when you are Maya Moore. She wins at basketball and as she demonstrated in 2020, she wins at life.
Moore was named to BET’s 100 Entertainers and Innovators of the Year list. After the 2018 season, she put her illustrious career on pause to advocate for the release of a man – Jonathan Irons – who was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Irons was released. Then … the ultimate flex – Irons liked it and he put a ring on it.
WNBA star Maya Moore reveals she has married Jonathan Irons, the man she helped free from wrongful conviction. Congratulations to the happy couple! https://t.co/XQgDH7hJAY pic.twitter.com/oattxmhhzO
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 16, 2020
Moore was named “Female Athlete of the Year” by BET. She, as well as current Minnesota Lynx owner Glen Taylor, was named as well to Sports Business Journal’s “The People Who Influenced Sports Business in 2020” list.
Interestingly enough – the entire Atlanta Dream team was also honored by BET for standing up in the face of anti-Black Lives Matter remarks made by one of its owners – Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler.
Bigger Than Basketball
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽#BlackLivesMatter#SayHerName pic.twitter.com/jNU8gRKpoF— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 27, 2020
Loeffler, after being appointed to a vacant Georgia senate seat by Governor Brian Kemp, began making incendiary remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement as well as open carry by Black Americans.
This, rightfully, offended many a WNBA player – including her own players on the Dream. Renee Montgomery, who first joined the Dream in 2018, decided to sit out the 2020 season in the Florida wubble to bring more attention on the ills of social injustice and systemic racism.
WNBA players wore t-shirts in support of Raphael Warnock, Loeffler’s opponent in the upcoming Georgia senate runoff. Warnock even recently held a virtual panel with several WNBA stars – including the Dream’s very own Elizabeth Williams – about athletes and their power in the fight for social justice.
The runoff between Warnock and Loeffler will occur on January 5.
