Boise State football arch-nemesis, women’s basketball great feted with downtown mural
Maya Moore shocked the nation last year when she announced she was giving up basketball after leading the Minnesota Linx to four WNBA championships. She left the game to pursue justice for Jonathan Irons, who at age 16 was sentenced to 65 years in prison for a home invasion robbery he said he did not commit.
Colin Kaepernick played with the San Francisco 49ers for six seasons but drew national attention in 2016 when, to protest racism and police brutality, he first sat, then kneeled, during the pre-game singing of the national anthem. He became a free agent after the season and was never signed to another NFL contract.
Moore and Kaepernick have just been honored with a mural on the Oliver Russell & Associates building at 217 S. 11th St. in downtown Boise. Oliver Russell describes itself as “a branding agency that elevates the impact of companies striving to do good for people and our planet.”
Moore, deep in thought, looks out from the wall. Kaepernick, with determination, raises his fist into the air.
Russ Stoddard, founder and president of Oliver Russell envisioned an “Inspiration Alley” to honor those who inspire others. He plans to continue filling the outer walls of his building with other visionaries.
“I wanted to put up portraits of people I’m inspired by, because of the stances they’ve taken,” Stoddard said by phone. “They’ve put their beliefs on the line, risking things for their beliefs.”
The mural is located in the alley on 11th Street and could easily be missed by motorists driving past. It’s more easily seen by pedestrians and drivers heading east on Grove Street and looking through the parking lot just before 11th Street.
The southeast side of the Oliver Russell building, visible to motorists on West Front Street, contains a mural with a man flexing his muscles above the caption “I Love You.” It was created in 2006 by Grant Olsen.
The new mural was created for Stoddard by Hawk Sahlein and Collin Pfeifer of Sector Seventeen, a Boise artist collective. They spent about six days on the project last month.
“We’ve worked for him a couple of times in the past, including some live-event painting,” Sahlein, 32, said by phone. “He had been talking about doing something in his alley for quite awhile and came up with the two figures he wanted to start with, Maya Moore and Colin Kaepernick.”
The artists used photographs for reference as they drew freehand.
“It was our intention to focus on the expressions in their faces,” Sahlein said. “We wanted them to be serious but also approachable and kind of determined. We wanted a nice balance and make sure the composition as a whole looked cohesive.”
Moore met Irons through a prison ministry her family was involved with. As she embarked on a basketball career at the University of Connecticut, Moore wrote to him and sent him books and visited him during college breaks. She became convinced he was innocent and worked to see him freed. Last month, she married him.
Kaepernick was essentially blackballed by the NFL for his kneeling stance. President Donald Trump referred to Kaepernick and others who kneeled as “sons of bitches” who deserved to lose their jobs,” although he later said Kaepernick deserved a second chance.
Stoddard laughed when asked about Kaepernick’s place in Boise’s sports history. The quarterback from Turlock, California, was recruited by Boise State but signed with the University of Nevada Reno.
In November 2010, Kaepernick led the Wolf Pack to a 34-31 overtime victory over the No. 3 Broncos and star quarterback Kellen Moore. With a win, Boise State would have gone to the Rose Bowl.
“I have a lot of respect for him, but I still love my Broncos,” Stoddard said.
While some people have criticized Stoddard for putting up Kaepernick’s image because of his stance on police brutality and injustice, most people have been supportive, he said.
“He’s very deserving, as is Maya Moore,” he said. “I’m glad to have them on my wall.”
He said he hopes Inspiration Alley, much like Freak Alley at 210 N. 9th St., can serve as inspiration for other building owners and artists.
“We have a lot more space left for other murals,” Stoddard said.
