Wendell Brown and Matt Liston. You may be unfamiliar with those names, but how they are connected and their story is one of faith and strength on multiple fronts.

 

 Wendell Brown is a former football player and actually made a brief stop in the CFL in 2013 when he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. His stint with Winnipeg was short, but his love for football carried on and took him to China where he was coaching for a Chinese American Football team and teaching Chinese youth American football.

On September 24th, 2016, Wendell’s life changed in an instant when he was involved in a scuffle at a bar and even though he was defending himself from flying bottles and other attackers, the next morning he was in a Chinese prison.

Matt Liston is a sports activist and this is where he enters the story. Like Brown, Liston attended Ball State and he, along with Brown’s family, friends, and countless other individuals were instrumental in bringing Wendell home on Wednesday, September 25th, 2019, three years to the day he was imprisoned.

 

We were able to speak with Matt about everything from the moment he found out about Wendell’s story to the moment he reunited with his family.

Luca Celebre: How did you hear of Wendell’s story and decide to get involved from the beginning of it?

Matt Liston: Just by nature of what I do for a living, being a sports activist, I’ll have people send me articles or send me somebody who needs help. I say this because when people request me for help it could be something very small or something very large, but an article was written that caught the eye of some people and one morning, I’m not joking, I woke up and had like 20 messages and it was all the same article and it’s because I went to Ball State and Wendell went to Ball State, and just given the very nature of what I do, along with the Ball State connection, people were like you should take a look at this, help this guy.

So I read the article and I started to do my own research on it and just because he was a Ball State guy, I wanted to help him, and then the more I got to learn the story, the more I got to know his family, I was just all in at that point.

LC: That totally makes sense. One of the things that I’m curious about as well because you’ve been working at this for a while I imagine, was there a point in this where you didn’t think everything was going to work out? Was there a point that it just didn’t seem like this was going to be the conclusion of the journey?

ML: Honestly, I never lost that faith in it, I just didn’t. Now, there were some down times for sure. When we heard the verdict for 4 years, we were fighting to just get a verdict for a long time and then to get the verdict and have it be 4 years, that was definitely a low point, but even at that point, I don’t think me or the other people who were working to try to free him felt like it was game over. I don’t think that was the case for anybody.

LC: What were Wendell’s spirits like through this all? Were his spirits ever negative or did he always have a positive outlook on it?

ML: I gotta tell you, the strength of him and his mother, they’re incredible people. For instance, with Wendell, we would exchange letters (we meaning the group of us) including Antoinette, his mother. It would be once a month we would exchange letters with him and (in) the letters, he always spoke of strength and faith. I sat with Wendell last night on the flight and we were talking about this exact thing which was everybody fed off of everybody else, so Antoinette, she would write positive things and be strong and show her strength through her letters and he would do the same thing and this wasn’t just with them, this was with everybody on the team.

I think everybody fed off of everybody else’s strength. Wendell, it was a tough situation that he was in, and he still had such clarity, and not only clarity, at times he also had a sense of humour which speaks volume about him, and his mother was the same. I just feel like there’s just that strength there on all sides.

LC: My follow up to that was going to be does his positivity and the strength of both him and his mother leak into you and the people you’re working with on this and clearly it does which totally makes sense.

ML: Absolutely! I think everybody fed off of everybody and I think anybody who worked on this, there’s a sense of family there and I think it’s because when you’re dealing with something where the stakes are this high, people as a whole were being very supportive and very strong. You grow tight bonds even in some cases where you’ve never even met the individual. That was a really cool thing about this, so many people from all walks of life rallied together and we kinda formed a team.

We didn’t know each other, but we all worked together with a common goal and I gotta tell you, the vibe of this group is extremely positive and for sure that also speaks to Wendell. That doesn’t just happen. It’s what makes this such an amazing thing and it makes for a joyous day. It feels like it was all kinda meant to be in terms of everybody coming together for a common cause to get him home.

LC: Everything we do in life, there are always learning experiences and I imagine in your line of work a little more so because of the unique experiences that you have and the relationships you form. Looking back at it now that Wendell is home and I don’t know if you’ve had time to reflect, but what’s the learning experience or the message from this journey?

ML: This one, what stands out for me, it is faith. Wendell’s faith is the only reason he’s here today, that’s my belief. Antoinette, her strength is equal that of Wendell. I believe Wendell was raised by a woman who instilled this in him and I feel like while he was there, that faith just actually grew stronger as times got harder and now I believe, not only is Wendell home, I believe Wendell is so inspirational, he’s going to do many great things and I think he’s going to help a great number of people and it all stems from his faith.

LC: What is next for Wendell, what do you think the next chapter of his journey holds for him?

ML: I can’t really speak on that at this point, but I will tell you I do believe he’s going to be a positive voice. What I’m hopeful for is I believe Wendell will have a larger platform to speak from now and his voice and his message will be that of faith. Everything he does positive so I think he’s just going to inspire a lot of people in a number of ways, but I can’t speak to specifics because that’s not for me to say, but I have no doubt that he’s going to go on to do great things. This guy is incredible man. Even through his letters, I couldn’t believe how he invested himself just in the letter writing. The things he would say and the way he would view the world and view his situation, it’s unbelievable to me.

I was already 100% on team Wendell and now that I’ve actually met him in person and spent the last part of my day. Even sitting with him on the flight, I sat next to him on the flight for 4.5, 5 hours, but we were together longer than that obviously. This guy, he’s an amazing human being and he’s going to do amazing things and I can’t wait to see what’s next.


LC: So I’m up in Canada, Wendell played in the CFL for a little, I know you’re a football fan as well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask, did you guys talk about sports at all in your conversations?

ML: Oh yeah, in fact it came up an hour ago. We went to do this ESPN show called ‘Outside The Lines’ and we were in their green room area and we’re watching football down there and I ask, hey are you more interested in football or less interested in football, has it affected your love for football in any way and he’s like “Oh no, I’m so excited to watch football.” He is all about it, he loves his Lions and he’s ready to go with football. We’re sitting there and they’re showing some highlights on the TV as they’re mic’ing us up and he’s just watching it. He’s just talking like, “Oh man, I can’t wait to sit and actually watch a game.”

He loves football for sure, but he says he loves all sports. We started talking NBA as well and he can’t wait to go to a Pistons game.

LC: The last question I have is what was that moment like, bringing him home at the airport, him reuniting with his family and you being there witnessing all of that, what was that moment like for you?

ML: There were two parts to this because we first got off the plane in Los Angeles. His mother and his aunt flew in from Detroit to Los Angeles and I met them in LA. For me, I think that’s the moment I played over and over in my head throughout the years that I’ve been working on this, when the two would see each other again because they’re so connected. They call each other best friends. Wendell would tell you my mom is my best friend and before he was detained, they talked every day on the phone, so I say that because for the last number of years, I would always visualize in my head what that moment would be like and so for me, when she said she was going to Los Angeles and I was going to go with her to meet him, I was so excited for that moment and it exceeded expectations to see those two embrace.

It was very emotional and very rewarding on so many levels, so that was a wonderful moment and then also, when he got off the plane in Detroit, there was all his family and loved ones with signs and everything else cheering and hugging and kissing and that was a special moment too. I kinda feel like there’s two championships won in one day. It’s pretty incredible.

LC: That’s a great analogy to use right there. I can’t even imagine the feeling, all I can say is thank you for helping bring Wendell home.

ML: I hope you meet him sometime so you can see what I’m talking about, it’s not hyperbole, he’s a very special man.