Chinese court sentences former Ball State football player Wendell Brown to four years in prison

As was reported to be the case with the UCLA hoops trio last November, perhaps it’s time for some presidential intervention on behalf of an American citizen mired in a legal black hole halfway around the world.

On Thursday, the Associated Press is reporting, former Ball State football player Wendell Brown (pictured, left) was sentenced by a Chinese court to four years in prison. The charges stem from an incident in September of 2016 in which the 31-year-old Brown allegedly injured the eye of a Chinese man at a Chongqing bar.

From Dan Wetzel‘s Yahoo! Sports column around Christmastime last year:

On September 24, 2016, he attended a friend’s birthday party at a bar. As Brown’s side tells it, a group of locals asked Brown to have a drink with them. African-Americans, especially muscular, 6-foot, 225-pound African-Americans, stand out in Chongqing. Brown declined. They took it as a sign of disrespect and began hurling bottles at him. Brown was arrested for hitting a man. He asserts he never threw a punch and merely raised his arms to block the bottles being thrown at him.

Brown went to trial in July of 2017; however, a verdict wasn’t rendered for another 11 months. On top of the four-year prison sentence, Brown had already been in custody for nearly 20 months prior to the court finding him guilty this week.

All hope is seemingly not lost, however, as apparently the White House has gotten involved in Brown’s case. “Matt Liston, a fellow Ball State graduate, told ESPN‘s Outside the Lines on Tuesday that ‘both the Chinese government and the United States government have been working together on the case,’” NPR.org wrote.

“We are aware of reports that Mr. Brown has been sentenced to four years,” a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said after the verdict was handed down. “The Department of State takes seriously its duty to assist U.S. citizens abroad. We continue to closely follow his case.”

Additionally, there is a chance that Brown could be deported, which, the Associated Press noted, sometimes happens when foreigners are convicted of crimes.

Brown played linebacker for the Cardinals from 2004-08, starting all 12 games and finishing second on the team in tackles during the 2006 season. After a playing career in the Canadian Football League, Brown moved to China to coach American football.