(FOX 2) - The warm reunion at Detroit Metro Airport earlier this week was three years in the making.
The family and friends of Wendell Brown crowded the arrivals area at DTW just before 6 a.m. Wednesday to see him for the first time in all these years. He was greeted with tears and hugs.
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Sea of tears and hugs: Wendell Brown sees loved ones for first time in 3 years
A crowd of people greeted Wendell Brown at Detroit Metro Airport Wednesday morning.
He had been away from his family because, while he was teaching American football over to children in China, he was charged with intentional assault after a bar fight.
Brown was originally given a four-year sentence, which would have left him jailed until the fall of 2020. It took two and a half years for him to get an official phone call back home.
His sentence was eventually reduced to three years, and this week he was able to finally come home.
He joined us on The Nine, along with his mother, Antoinette, to tell us more about his legal ordeal and homecoming.
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Wendell Brown joins us on The Nine after release from Chinese prison
Wendell Brown and his mother, Antoinette Brown, join us on The Nine after his release from a Chinese prison after three years.
Wendell is in good spirits and so thankful to be home. He says his mother, family and God is what kept him positive and uplifted over the years.
Brown has maintained his innocence after he says he was defending himself in an attack at the bar, which was supported by video evidence.
"It was something extremely minor, extremely minor. The incident that took place, I couldn't imagine anyone doing a day [in prison]," he told us.
He says he had to learn some Chinese to get by in prison because barely anybody else spoke English.
Once he got home, he and his family celebrated with a full Thanksgiving meal - including his grandmother's banana pudding.
He's ready to move on but admits he's still not fully acclimated to life outside of prison.
"Every maybe few hours I see something that just reminds me like, wow. Thank you Father, like, I'm home. I'm finally home. Wow, it still blows my mind," he told us.
You can hear more from Wendell and his mother in the video player above.