From cursed outcast in Ghana to 4-star Iowa Hawkeyes signee: The remarkable story of Justice S

IOWA CITY, Iowa — In the village of Larteh, Ghana, located about 30 miles north of the Atlantic Ocean and barely visible on a Google map, Justice Sullivan spent the first eight years of his life living as an outcast with the name Samuel.

He was born with albinism, which lightened his Black skin, gave him freckles and turned his hair color red. A divine spirit and a beautiful life but one nevertheless some people in his village believed needed to end.

“People thought I was like cursed or there was something wrong with me or I did something,” he said. “Some lady tried to like, I don’t know why, but she tried to kill me. She was apparently very angry at me for some reason. And then there are other instances where it was not a good situation.”

He was cast aside, not allowed to meet with people outside of his family. He was barely educated and underweight for his age. His birth mother, Jennifer, took him to a church where either she or the pastor had a dream about her son.

“It’s kind of dark,” Justice said. “They saw me in like a casket. That was when my mom really began to start worrying about me. She wanted to get me out of there, and she wanted to protect me. She wanted me to have a better life.”

Concurrent with Justice’s daily trials, Jake and Janel Sullivan, well-known people in small-town Ballard, Iowa, started to explore adoption. Devout Christians, the Sullivans were midway through a home study to adopt a child from Ethiopia. They paid the initial deposit and were excited about their prospects.

Then an agency professional casually brought up a special project in Ghana, which had opened its borders for international adoption. The couple talked and prayed. They forfeited their deposit and decided Ghana was where they were called to expand their family.

They found a child and they began to bond. But at the last moment, the birth family chose not to allow the adoption. Then came more referrals.

“They sent us Justice’s picture,” Jake Sullivan said. “Initially, we were like, ‘He’s kind of old.’ We were thinking about adopting younger. Then we just noticed he has red hair and our biological children have red hair. We’re like, ‘OK, God must be doing something.’ How many Ghanaians, how many Africans have red hair? So, we said yes and started in on that process of adopting him.”

The Sullivans learned more about albinism and local superstitions. They traveled to Ghana and witnessed the heartbreaking reasons why his mother wanted him to find a better life with another family. They felt a pull toward the boy they would rename Justice because of the number of injustices dealt to him. The adoption process began in summer 2009 and completed Sept. 25, 2010.

“Out of a deep compassion and love for him and giving him a future, his mom gave him up for adoption,” Jake said. “I think if he would have been a normal-looking Ghanaian boy, he would have never been given up for adoption. But because of his red hair and his skin color and the albinism, that was the factor that his mom gave him up. Having a very difficult life in Ghana, it was out of a compassionate love for him that she gave him up for adoption. So, it’s just kind of cool to think about how God orchestrated all of that in order to ultimately bring him into our family.”

The Sullivans brought Justice back to their central Iowa community to provide a new start for everyone. Ten years later, hundreds, if not thousands, of lives are changed for the better.

A new home

There are many layers to Justice Sullivan and his family and multiple reasons why this story appears at The Athletic. First, 18-year-old Justice Sullivan, now 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, was a four-star linebacker prospect at renowned Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School. Several Division I schools offered scholarships to Sullivan, and he chose Iowa more than a year before signing day. He enrolled at Iowa in January.

Then there’s Jake Sullivan, who ranks eighth in Iowa State men’s basketball history with 1,810 career points scored from 2000-04. He was named to Iowa State’s all-century team and holds Cyclones records for 3-pointers made and free throw percentage, the latter of which he also owns the Big 12 mark.

As one of the greatest Cyclones in a state where the Cy-Hawk rivalry finds oxygen in countless daily encounters, Jake Sullivan understands what it means to have his oldest son wearing black and gold.

“I put on an Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt the other day, and I looked at myself in the mirror and I’m like, ‘This just doesn’t feel normal,’” Jake said. “But we’re excited for him.”

Once Jake’s Iowa State career ended in 2004, he became one of the state’s most influential coaches associated with AAU basketball. He helped start the All-Iowa Attack that year and five years later founded Kingdom Hoops. Among Sullivan’s basketball alumni include Harrison Barnes, Marcus Paige, Adam Woodbury, Mike Gesell and Peter Jok.

When Justice first moved to central Iowa, he tried multiple sports. It was something the Sullivans believed could help him learn the language, which it did. Basketball was another story.

“Oh my gosh, I was horrible,” Justice said. “I was horrible at every sport I tried. Coming from Ghana, the sport was soccer, and I just had no (hand-eye) coordination. I had nothing. I was horrible. I don’t think I played a single minute of basketball until like fifth or sixth grade.”

“I still remember we threw him into a third-grade boys’ practice at Kingdom Hoops, and I remember everybody’s doing right-hand layups full court, and he is dribbling against the traffic,” Jake said. “He was going the wrong direction.”

Within a year, Justice could speak and understand English. His motor-skills development improved in all sports, but his feelings for basketball didn’t grow at the same rate. By eighth grade, he was done with the sport. Football, however, instantly became a love affair for Justice.

“I realized I didn’t need to focus on catching the ball,” Justice said. “I could just like run and go tackle someone. To me, that was a lot easier than trying to dribble a ball 100 times and shooting. So that’s kind of how I got into football and I started playing.

“I remember my first-ever touchdown. It was a fumble, and I was a linebacker. I ended up picking up the ball and running it all the way back. I high-stepped into the end zone, and my coach was not very happy.”

By his eighth-grade season, Justice was known throughout his community as a budding high school football star. Former Ballard varsity coach Al Christian invited Justice to join the high school team for weightlifting sessions. Justice more than held his own in those workouts.

“When he came in the weight room, the high school kids, their eyes got really wide because they saw how strong and how hard this kid lifted, and it motivated our older kids, too,” said Christian, now an assistant coach at larger Ankeny High School.

But doubt and insecurity — two aspects that continue to linger for Justice — permeated his thinking as he left for those workouts.

“I would wake up early in the morning, ride my bike to the lifting sessions and stuff like that,” Justice said. “It was so cold. Riding my bike, I was like, ‘Is it even worth it? What is the point of doing any of this?’”

Christian saw this, and one small gesture changed Justice’s perspective. Every morning, Christian swung by the Sullivans’ house and picked up Justice on the way to lifts. It was something many, if not most, coaches do daily for athletes without reward or even a second thought. Yet what Christian did inspired and motivated Justice.

“He believed in me,” Justice said.

“You try not to have favorites but sometimes you find that kid that kind of buys into what you believe in and also a great character kid, great in academics,” Christian said. “It made that extra trip to go pick him up definitely worth it.

“Another thing that’s special about him is just random one night, he was back in town, and I get a knock on the door and it’s him. We spent a half-hour just visiting. You have ties with kids. You get invited to weddings and all this, but I had a special connection with Justice. A lot of kids wouldn’t do that. Just stop by and say, ‘Hey, how’re things going, Coach? How are things at Ankeny? How is the family?’”

A Royal Promise

Before the Sullivans could adopt Justice, they were required to meet his family. The more they looked into Ghana and the environment that surrounded Justice, the more they wanted to become involved. They started a ministry called Royal Promise. In the village of Asikuma, Royal Promise opened a children’s center for orphans, a school, a women’s center and a volunteer house. More than 300 children attend the school, and young women are selected to participate in a two-year course designed to teach trade skills. The ministry has since expanded to Cape Coast.

The Sullivans adopted two more Ghanaian children — girls Jennifer and Jasara — to join their growing family, which includes biological children J.J., Jayla and Jacoby. They are trying to adopt their seventh child, Julius, who remains in Ghana through mountains of government red tape.

Through their ministry’s growth, the Sullivans travel to Ghana annually. They want their children to know about their history, traditions and biological connections. Justice regularly speaks with his birth mother and younger brother, Kwesi, through WhatsApp. Jennifer and Jasara recently met their birth mother for the first time. The Sullivans helped provide medical supplies for Justice’s birth mother when she was stricken with malaria.

Justice Sullivan with his birth mother, Jennifer, and his biological brother, Kwesi. (Photo: Justice Sullivan).

“We want Justice to know who he is and where he’s from,” Jake said. “Who knows, the Lord may call him back there someday. We started looking at opportunities to make a difference in Ghana.

“We were going in and out of the country a lot, and in that course of that process, we get to meet his family, go to his village and his community. Justice has kept in contact with his mother and his brother so he knows who he is, where he’s from, and really just how he even got here.”

Justice made his first solo trip to Ghana two months ago. Justice spent 20 days in his native country, and his emotions stirred from his past to his present. What bothers him most are the liars.

“There are people who come around, and they claim to be my family,” he said. “It makes me so mad. Because a guy just looks at me and he goes, ‘When you were here, I took care of you.’ I was just like, ‘No, you didn’t. When I was here, I was all by myself. No one treated me very well.’ It made me angry.”

They left the village on a bus to visit a 4-year-old girl named Samuella. Justice stewed the entire trip, remembering the lies and his difficult past. He wondered if he should ever return to Ghana again. Then, when he walked through the town, he saw Samuella with red hair.

Justice Sullivan with Samuella. (Courtesy of Justice Sullivan)

“The little girl looked just like me,” Justice said. “I tried to go over to her and talk to her. She was scared of me and ended up running away. I kept walking around and I found her. We took a picture and then I put my baby picture next to her. And we looked the exact same. That just made me realize that there are still people here that are like me.

“If I’m not willing to help them, no one else will. If Jake and Janel weren’t willing to help me, no one else would have helped me. So like it just kind of helped me see what life was like, just because I was in that exact same position. If I turned my back on them, then nobody else will be there to help them.”

Making the jump

Justice played one year of varsity football as a freshman at Ballard before the family moved later that school year to the Twin Cities. Jake was hired as the senior director for Next Generation Ministries at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minn. Jake also runs NXT Hoops, an AAU basketball organization.

At Eden Prairie High School, Justice went out for track his freshman season. That’s when he made his first impression on varsity football coach Mike Grant.

“We saw him run track and he was this 100-meter guy back then at a varsity level,” Grant said. “It didn’t take a genius, let me tell you, to look at him and say, he’s going to be a good player.”

Grant has won 12 high school state championships at Minnesota’s highest level. His program regularly produces Division I and NFL players and is built with toughness and discipline, much like the Minnesota Vikings’ teams his Pro Football Hall of Fame father, Bud, coached from 1967 through the mid-1980s.

The school’s football reputation contributed to Justice’s self-consciousness, just like at Ballard.

“Going from like a 3A school in Iowa to a big 6A school made me really nervous,” Justice said. “Making friends and stuff like that will be tough. Throughout the year, I didn’t know if I was going to play. I was like, ‘What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m not like the player they’re expecting?’”

Grant levels with freshmen parents right away. Ability goes only so far. Character, work ethic and other intangible qualities are essential toward building football players and developing good teams. Justice took advantage of Eden Prairie’s impressive weightlifting program and continued to grow stronger.

“He’s not only a good player, but he’s a great young man, and a tremendous character guy and a very hard worker in the weight room,” Grant said. “He does all the things you want. He checks all the boxes, let’s just say that.”

As a sophomore, Justice initially started at linebacker, just as he did at Ballard. Then he shifted to defensive end to streamline the learning curve and allow his physical ability to take over. Justice finished with 10 tackles for loss and 57 total tackles.

“That really helped me because it simplified the game to where I can just rush and especially coming into a new system and having to learn everything,” he said. “It ended up playing out really well.”

Throughout his career, Justice played mostly on the line of scrimmage both as a stand-up rusher and with his hand in the turf. He also saw action as an inside linebacker, but a high-ankle sprain his senior year robbed him of his final season.

“He really developed as a player mentally but physically, he was a hard worker in the weight room,” Grant said. “He’s got some tremendous genetics of natural strength, too. He’s got good speed and he’s got good size, and it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up playing. I think there’s a lot of places he can play.”

Loyalty and trust

Justice’s experiences have taught him loyalty. From his family in Minnesota and Ghana to the coaches at Ballard and Eden Prairie, relationships are everything with Justice.

That was the same way during the recruiting process. He attended camps at Iowa State, but the interest wasn’t strong. As a sophomore in February 2019, Justice received his first scholarship offer during an unofficial visit to Iowa. Minnesota followed a few days later, as did Nebraska. But the Iowa offer vaulted the Hawkeyes far ahead of every other program.

“They were straight-up honest with me and they told me where I was,” Justice said. “That was really reassuring to me. ‘Oh my gosh, they believe in me.’ So that gave me an extra boost where it’s like, I’ve got to keep working, I got to keep striving to get better, I got to keep doing all of these things to just improve.

“They were the first people to take that chance on me. That’s one thing in life is when someone gives you an opportunity first, you stay loyal. They took a chance. That was one of my main reasons I committed there is because they gave me a chance first.”

Four-star athlete Justice Sullivan signed his Iowa letter of intent in December 2020. (Courtesy of Justice Sullivan)

Neither Jake nor Janel ever pressured Justice to wear cardinal and gold despite their loyalties. They want Justice and all of their children to find the best schools for them. Plus, Iowa State didn’t recruit Justice.

“It was still awkward,” Jake admits. “I think our biggest disappointment was, ‘You’re not going to the University of Minnesota? You’re like 15 minutes away from us.’ But we’re excited for him. It’ll be a little weird cheering for the Hawkeyes. But at the same time, we wanted to support him where he believed he needed to go. And like I told the Iowa coaches, they asked me about it early on and I said, ‘Hey, whoever’s paying for his education, I will wear their school colors and cheer very loudly.’ So that’s been my position in it all.”

The Iowa coaching staff is known for its thorough evaluations and small number of offers. Multiple coaches spent time getting to know the Sullivan family. They grew to love Justice and his life story.

“Justice is an incredible kid,” Iowa recruiting director Tyler Barnes said. “He’s been through some things that nobody could ever dream. He’s mature beyond his years. You feel like you’re talking to a 35-year-old. Just the way he views life and just everything, in general, is so different than most teenagers that you talk to.

“And he’s got a mean streak to him. I mean, he’s a really good football player. He plays with his hand on the ground, for the most part, with his high school team, which doesn’t mean a whole lot. We’ve got Justice slotted to play linebacker here. But just in the intangible standpoint, it’s just the type of kid he is, just how mature he is. Talk about another humble, selfless kid who’s really seen a lot in his life. From a leadership standpoint, I think he brings a ton to the table. From a football standpoint, his film speaks for itself.”

The next chapter

Justice enrolled at Iowa in late January and has taken part in the Hawkeyes’ grueling winter workouts. If there’s anything Justice has learned at Iowa, Jake said, it’s “he’s blown away by the level of accountability.”

Additionally, Justice’s insecurities have returned, just as they did when he left Africa, joined the high school for weightlifting sessions and moved to Minnesota. He wonders if he’s good enough to play during his career. Those moments of self-doubt have the ability to help Justice succeed, his father said.

“I love it,” Jake said. “I think when we get comfortable, we get complacent, and when we get complacent, we don’t reach our full potential. But the uncomfortableness that he often has, I think it’s a thing that drives him to succeed. There’s never a complacency. There’s never, ‘Oh, I’m just going to settle and be comfortable with where I’m at.’ There’s always more to accomplish, there’s more to figure out, there’s more to do.

“That’s what was so exciting for us when he chose Iowa is how Coach (Kirk) Ferentz coaches and the depth and the talent that is there. There’s never going to be a day that you’re fully comfortable. And we felt, he felt, that over the course of four-to-five years there that he will maximize his potential regardless of what that is, just because of that environment. So, for me, as his father, I’ll be worried if he gets comfortable with where he’s at and gets complacent with it.”

That’s the same in life. Justice wants to major in international business and support villages like Larteh with schools, hospitals and learning centers. Royal Promise and his own life experience have given Justice perspective that he plans to take with him and help others along the way.

“I feel like going to play football is an amazing opportunity,” he said. “But one thing I’ve always thought is if I go through all my life, and all I ever do is play football, then I haven’t really ever changed someone. Football is amazing and I’m grateful. But I want to be able to use that opportunity and in return, help other people.”

(Top photo courtesy of Justice Sullivan)

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