U.S. football player Wendell Brown released from Chinese prison

By Dawn Liu and Linda Givetash

BEIJING — Former American football player Wendell Brown returned to an emotional welcome in Detroit on Wednesday, more than a year after being handed a four-year prison sentence in China for his involvement in a bar fight.

Brown, a native of Detroit who played for Ball State University in Indiana, was arrested in September 2016 over charges of intentional assault, and was convicted in June 2018. His lawyer Wu Junmei confirmed with NBC News on Wednesday that Brown was released and left China on an evening flight from Chongqing.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart, sincerely. Thank you for all your love, support, prayers, positive energy, everything," Brown said, while wearing a sweatshirt with the word "Blessed" across the chest in a video posted on Twitter. "I'm coming home."