love the t-shirt, maya moore. together and share more of your story together, but thank you both so very much. can't wait to see you both. you take care. have a great day. >> you too. >> appreciate it, robin. >> you too. thank you. >> you got it, maya. ooh, you know they got to be tired but, boy, they have fought the good fight. >>> coming up, orlando bloom tells us all about his new movie and how he's looking forward to it's a beautiful thing. superfast internet with an xfinity flex 4k streaming device included? even beautiful-er. and now flex also comes with peacock. ooh la la. this rare bird lets you stream tons of movies, shows, news, sports and more. and with flex, it's all at your beck and call... show me parks and rec! see? the best really did get better! magnificent. switch to xfinity internet and get a flex 4k streaming device with peacock premium included for no additional cost. >>> welcome back to "gma." everybody, get those wrists ready. you'll be fanning yourself from coast to coast. we've got a lot o

maya moore put her career on hold to help free a man who spent decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. 23 years after his wrongful conviction, jonathan irons is a free man. wnba star maya moore giving up her 2019 season to help him overturn his conviction on charges of burglary and assault. >> i'm dedicating my life to freeing jonathan the same way i dedicated myself to each game in the wnba. >> reporter: moore's family met irons through prison ministry. she and irons introduced in 2007 just before her freshman year at uconn. irons was convicted at 16, tried as an adult and convicted by an all white jury to 50 years for assault and burglary. but maya working in tandem with his team of lawyers saw holes in the prosecution. >> jonathan's case is special in that there were so many different problems in his case, there was no other forensic evidence that linked him to the crime. just didn't add up that jonathan could have done it. >> people don't want to watch a fixed game. they want to watch a fair game and so that's all we're asking for, in our justice system, let's be fair and m

. >>> plus the wnba star maya moore benched herself for a higher cause. managed to give this man back his name and his freedom. >>> first, the race for a cure for covid-19. the latest company to report promising results. >>> first, the race for a cure for covid-19. the latest company to report promising results. the three p'. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54. alex, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan, available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. so c

and yesterday there he was walking out of jefferson county correctional facility in missouri and maya mooreping him get the conviction overturned. new evidence was found in the case. irons is free after serving 22 years behind bars and moore called the moment worshipful and sitting out again this season to continue fighting for social justice and in the wake of george floyd's death athletes are choosing to not return to games just yet but instead to focus on creating chaung in the country. >> really impressive. coy, thank you. >>> it is the top of the hour. i'm kate bolduan. for the first time the united states is crossing the 50,000 mark for new cases in a single day. spikes in several states, at least fooi states now setting their own new records. for new infecti

that is what maya moore did. she she was the face of the wnba.inals mvp, she had done everything. but in 2019, she quit playing basketball to help jonathan who was in prison for 23 years on burglary and assault charges. it turns out he was wrongfully convicted. freed yesterday thanks to maya who talked about it yesterday. >> i wanted to shift my priorities to be more available and present to show up for things that i felt were mattering more than being a professional athlete. so this is one of the biggest and most direct results. >> i want people to have hope from this story. we're in dark times. we've got to keep going. keep the faithful. >> incredible. we're getting our first look at the practice courts the wnba is laying down. they've actually flown in their own hardwood. i want you to look on the side. that's carpet. yes. that's carpet. fedex has asked the redskins to change their name. the skins opener daniel snyder has resisted efforts to change the name for many years. the 49ers with an epic tweet today, sending out this video of george ki

. >>> wnba star maya moore put her career on hold last year to push for the release of a man who spent his entire adult life behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit. tonight that man is free. nbc news correspondent blayne alexander has that story. >> reporter: a tearful reunion years in the making. after 23 years in a missouri state prison, jonathan irons finally free. embraced by his unlikely hero, basketball superstar maya moore. >> i'm so grateful. >> reporter: a four-time wnba champion, maya took a break in her prime in large part to help irons, who says he was wrongly convicted. we spoke to maya last fall. was it hard to walk away? >> it's hard, 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, it makes it a little less hard. >> reporter: irons was arrested in 1997 at age 16, given a 50-year sentence for a non-fatal shooting. maya fought for him, launching a petition in his name and a foundation around criminal justice reform. in march, a judge vacated his conviction. >> this conviction i

missouri state prison jonathan irons finally free embraced by his unlikely hero, basketball superstar maya moore. >> so grateful. >> reporter: a four-time wnba champion maya took a break in her prime in large part to help irons who says he was wrongly convicted. we spoke to her last fall >> was it hard to walk away >> it's hard 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 it makes it a little less hard. >> reporter: irons was arrested in 1997 at age 16, given a 50-year sentence for a non-fatal shooting maya fought for him. launching a petition in his name and a foundation around criminal justice reform in march, a judge vacated his conviction. >> this conviction's been vacated. >> reporter: the current prosecutor declined a retrial, today citing issues with the case, including fingerprints at the scene that did not match irons. irons' record now wiped clean. >> absolutely elated and thankful. >> in that moment i just -- i really felt like i could rest. >> reporter: last year we met irons in prison. >> what wo

that is maya moore hugging jonathan irons moments after he was released yesterday.to advocate for irons who was sentenced to 50 years for a burglary and assault in 1997. his defense team argued there was no physical evidence, so a judge throughout march. >> how does it feel? >>'s -- i -- i feel like i can live life now. i'm free. i'm blessed. >> gayle, i love these stories where athletes, whether they be mohaned ali or colin kaepernick or maya moore give up their careers to advocate for somebody who finds themselves in a predicament like this. >> i mean, go, maya moore. she changed the game for him. listen, he was 16 years old sentenced to 50 years for the crime. 50 years! he served 22 years. that's why there is so much conversation about doing something about the criminal justice system which they say and you see evidence of that is unfair to people of color. he was convicted by an all-white jury at the time when he was a 16-year-old. it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. i'm so glad that maya picked up the story and put her life on hold really to help him. i love

state prison, jonathan irons finally free, embraced by his unlikely hero, basketball superstar maya moore >> so grateful >> reporter: a four-time wnba champion, maya took a break in her prime in large part to help irons who said he was wrongly convicted. we spoke to maya last fall was it hard to walk away >> it is hard. but when your convictions are moving you to a place that you know is right, and you're moving into something that really meaningful, it makes it a little less hard. >> reporter: irons was arrested in 1997 at age 16, given a 50-year sentence for a nonfatal shooting maya fought for n his name and a foundation around criminal justice reform in march, a judge vacated his conviction >> this conviction is being vacated. >> reporter: the current prosecutor declined to a retrial, citing issues with the case including fingerprints at the scene that did not match irons. irons' record now wiped clean. >> absolutely elated and thankful >> in that moment, i just -- i felt like i could rest >> reporter: last year, we met irons in prison. what would it mean to you to finally walk out >>

prison, jonathan irons is a free man, walking out of a missouri prison thanks to help from wnba star maya moore. >> in that moment, i just -- i really felt like i could -- i could rest. >> reporter: following four wnba championships, moore put her career on hold to help with the case. >> i'm absolutely elated and thankful just to be here in this moment right now. >> reporter: the two connected in 2007 through a missouri ministry. at the age of 16, irons had been tried as an adult and sentenced to 50 years in prison for assault and burglary. moore and his lawyers seeing holes in the prosecution. the case finally overturned in march, paving the way for irons, now 40, to be released on wednesday. >> i'm free. ♪ praise the lord ♪ hallelujah ♪ i'm free hallelujah! >> when i stepped away, i just really wanted to shift my priorities and be able to be more available and present. >> reporter: and moore says she isn't sure if she's returning to the basketball court, but she has changed irons' life. he says that he wants to advocate on behalf of people like him with their cases. tom? >> an incredible miss

it's really inspiring to see players and athletes like maya moore who gave up her whole career in the wnba to fight for somebody wrongly convicted, kenny stills and rodney harris, who are putting a lot of pressure on the attorney general to make an arrest and arrest the murders of breonna taylor. so i think there's a lot of movement. obviously with all the social unrest, and i don't think it's going anywhere, regardless of what the sport is. >> i want to -- let's put this up. you mentioned to bias harris. used his media availability to call for the arrest of the officers involved inbreonna's death. we have the video for that. it was in question three. recently arrested while protesting outside the kentucky a.g.'s home. do you think athletes now have a greater understanding of the power of their platforms? >> 100%. and i think they're starting to activate that. it's been a while since swin cash and players wore t shirts. that turned into lebron james and colin kaepernick. after those examples players are seeing they have the ability to draw attention to the issues and put pressure on t

they opted to sit out to focus on initiatives, including one of the biggest stars, maya moore who istraight season. this is, as you said, nothing new to the players. the wnba, holding a 26-second moment of silence. she was 26 years old. her name will be on every jersey as part of the say her name campaign. there you have the new york liberty and the seattle storm as the anthem played they walked off the -- this is not a political issue. it's a human issue. >> it's about honoring breonna taylor's life and about bringing awareness to the fact that her murderers have not been brought to justice. >> this is an evolution for many. for us, i feel our evolution has to do with the eyes and the ears on us and the figures that could help us be progressive and we express ourselves from powerful women on the court. >> for the games, here's the first pro bucket of number one overall pick by the new york liberty, sabrina ionescu. she shot over 25% in an 87-71 loss to the storm. play of the day to l.a. sparks star brittany sykes. get out of her. 6'9", britney sykes. >> doing something not since feb

you've had players, star players, including maya moore and renee montgomery to step away from the leaguestice. tell us why as you as commissioner made this choice in the first year? >> the prayers, what i've been so impressed here and i'll be here a year tomorrow, players have always taken a league on social justice and as a league we've stood by and supported them on causes that matter the most. as commissioner i'm committed to making this season dedicated to what mayors want to advocate for and we've worked hard with them around black lives matter and the players in the wnba have platforms in a time when there is so much injustice and equality in society and they have a long history whether it's fighting for opioid awareness or prison reform, maya taking off two years to fight the criminal justice system, so this movement, i think i'm very proud of the players, amend so we kind of coined it the wnba justice movement and the creation of a justice counsel council and the players are looking forward to dedicating the season and implementing great work here. >> two-thirds of the players ar

facility in missouri and maya moore was there in a mask helping him get the conviction overturned. new evidence was found in the case. irons is free after serving 22 years behind bars and moore called the moment worshipful and sitting out again this season to continue fighting for social justice and in the wake of george floyd's death athletes are choosing to not return to games just yet but instead to focus on creating chaung in the country. >> really impressive. coy, thank you. >>> it is the top of the hour. i'm kate bolduan. for the first time the united states is crossing the 50,000 mark for new cases in a single day. spikes in several states, at least fooi states now setting their own new records. for new infections. 37 states are heading in the wrong direction. and i don't hear anyone saying other than the president that this is going to change for the better any time soon. states are responding. some like california and arizona and texas including are tightening restrictions to try to keep people more socially distanced but are the moves enough to turn the tide? we'll ask th

louis missouri when a conviction is overturned and jonathan irons walks out a free man wnba star maya moore sat out last season in order to help in this process, ayers was serving a 50 year sentence for a 1998 conviction on burglary and assaulting a homeowner with a gun. tonight he says he is thankful to be free. >>a larger than life. i'm blessed i'm using them on live >>iran says he was misidentified and insists he was not at the home during that crime. more madam in 2007 during a visit those part of the prison's ministry. she is considered one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time and was willing to take herself out of consideration for the olympic team to take up. this particular fight. >>an 8 year-old with a megaphone in missouri organize his very own march for racial equality, hundreds of supporters showed up in kirkwood missouri today for the children's black lives matter march. so many children leading the way with families and little ones in strollers following nolan davis the boy behind the event says he wanted children to have a voice because they can make things

i love maya moore and, you know, you say she was a male athlete -- well, she wouldn't do it. erybody talks a good game but what -- from maya, the lynx, you know, she actually did something to give up your career, i'm sorry, i hit my thing but to give up your career, to give up your career and that's what i love about the women's soccer players. >> we're out of time. i'm so sorry. thank you both. look, this is another segment that could be an hour but out of time. i'm on a hard out. thanks for joining me. that's it, guys. that's our show for today. i will be back tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. for cross talk but now it's alex witt. ' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪ ♪won't wait♪ ♪we're taking everything we wanted♪ ♪we can do it ♪all strength, no sweat >>> hey there, everyone. good day from msnbc headquarters. high noon in the east. happy independence day to everyone. welcome to weekends with alex witt as well. hitting the beach for the holiday as one state shatters a record with more than 11,000 cases in a day. will america's birthday be a super spreader event? l

wnba superstar maya moore.htepped away from the game to help the 40-year-old irons who was 18 when he was convicted and given a 50-year sentence for burglary and assault. the 31-year-old moore, who first met irons as part of a prison ministry, took last season off to fight for his release, launching a petition in his name and starting a foundation for criminal justice reform. in march, a judge vacated irons' conviction. they declined a retrial allowing him to walk free. moore was there for the moment of his release, joining jonathan's family and supporters, moore dropping to her knees as she sees jonathan walk out. moore posted video of the moment to instagram with a simple caption, freedom. sgli feel li >> i feel like i can live life now. i'm free. i'm blessed. i thank everybody that supported me, maya, the family. i'm so grateful. >> welcome home, jonathan. well done, maya. >>> our next high goes to a young buy in england inspiring the world with his fund-raising efforts for the hospital that saved his life.

>>wnba star maya moore is celebrating after putting her career on hold. while in her prime to fight to get a man who she believed was wrongly convicted free from prison and she has succeeded shared video on her instagram account. that's there she is hugging and celebrating in the background there jonathan irons was serving a 50 year sentence for 1998 conviction on burglary and assaulting a homeowner with a gun irons always professed his innocence. more met him in 2007 and during that it does it was part of the prison she was part of the prisons minister and another wnba star natasha cloud has decided to sit out of the 2020 season, so she can focus on fighting for social justice. the washington mystics star said that she needed to do more than just wear a shirt or post on social media, she wants to use her platform to fight for we'll tangible change. wearing a t-shirt is not enough. >>when the t-shirt that says black lives matters is not enough. for the nba, who stole the wnba idea putting black lives matters on the court that is not enough. and so not onl

maya moore is celebrating the release from prison of jonathan irons the wnba star shared this video on her instagram today more men irons at the missouri state penitentiary back in 2007 as part of the prison's ministry she effect sat out last season in order to help work on overturning his conviction. he was serving a 50 year sentence for breaking into a home and assaulting a homeowner with a gun ayers had said that he was misidentified insisted he was not f at home. well tonight with her help he is a free man. >>tonight's we've doubled our speeds the fastest just got back. >>the nfl is inching towards training camp it's set to begin late this month. but the league is still shuffling some things around including the pre season schedule reports today say the nfl will shorten this year's preseason from the standard 4 games to just 2 that means the first game would be played between august 20th and 24th with another round of games. the following week. the reduced schedule part of an effort to help players bodies acclimate due to the shortened offseason amid covid-19 each team will play on

you saw maya moore and a host of wnba players opt to sit out so they can pursue change in social justice seen athletes across the board step up in their communities and so for athletes and specifically for black athletes, not myself, but black athletes and 70% of our league is black, what is the league doing? what are owners doing in their communities to step up? and that's really what we mean by can we create some change through the resources that our league and our owners have? >> and we appreciate you being one of those to step up, j.j. appreciate it very much and get another cup of coffee. i know on the break you were grabbing another cup of coffee. you have some long days ahead of you but appreciate as always your time and my best to you and all in the league. you take care, j.j. >> thank you, robin. >> take care. you got it. >>> coming up next here on "gma," we have more that we are going to discuss and we'll let you know when we come back. let you know when we come back. ♪ ♪ we stick together, ♪ for worse or for better ♪ (yeah) ♪ through any kind of weather, ♪ (yo) ♪ you're my fri

imaginary about what inside black police violence looks like so saying the name of kayla moore tunisia anderson maya hall of india cater the point of this is to understand that the experience in the vulnerability means that we're not safe in our own body. than our own bodies a movement that does not talk about our bodies is not a movement that's lifting us up to. illuminate it i think with. an online so it's a free for instance as a lot of this panel why activism has to be intersectional she sent this is why it has to be intersectional also getting some pushback to your conversation i know you're used to this. through instance and that being part of the conversation hayes says i feel like lots of black women and women in general are starting these ways of bashing black men and creating these hate. towards fees plot man i know you all know how. we are going to tell. me why don't you want to reveal. what an honor it's the fact that he's going to do it one by one he's not i mean you're always ok well there are you're 100 we're also and intentional intent is to divert away from the issue at hand we're s