Michael Oher, the former NFL tackle whose life inspired the Oscar-nominated film “The Blind Side,” sensationally filed a lawsuit against the family who took him in at age 18, alleging they duped him out of millions of dollars made from his life story and saying he wants to end their conservatorship over him.
Oher, 37, claims Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tricked him into making them his conservators, rather than his adoptive parents, nearly two decades ago.
The former Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl winner is seeking to have the conservatorship terminated and asking for a full accounting of the money earned off the use of his name, including the film that made over $300 million at the box office and the novel that inspired it.
The allegations put a new spin on the beloved football movie, starring Sandra Bullock, which painted the Tuohys as a generous and loving family who adopted Oher and helped him thrive at the University of Mississippi.
The Tuohys have since denied they kept the conservatorship a secret from Oher, said they are “devastated” by allegations that they profited handsomely from his story, and have even claimed through their lawyer that he had demanded a $15 million payment from them and threatened to go public, according to TMZ.
Relationship with the Tuohys
Oher met the Tuohys in 2004 while attending the Briarcrest Christian School in Eads, Tenn., where he excelled at football and played in the Tennessee All-State Game.
Coming from a troubled home where his mother was a drug addict and amid his father’s death, a penniless Oher would often stay at the homes of his classmates until he connected with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy in the summer of his senior year.
Oher has said the couple made him feel like part of their family, encouraging him to call them “Mom” and “Dad” and eventually drawing up the conservatorship documents when he was 18.
However, the cozy family dynamic appeared to splinter two years after “The Blind Side” premiered, with Oher writing his own memoir in 2011 criticizing the film, which he felt painted him as a “dumb” kid with no knowledge of the sport rather than a budding star athlete.
As he distanced himself from the movie, Oher also appeared to distance himself from the Tuohys, with the former offensive lineman notably not following any of them on social media.
Despite this, Oher would often pop up on Leigh Anne’s Instagram page, happily posing with her.
However, when Oher tied the knot with his longtime partner, Tiffany Roy, in 2022, the Tuohy family appeared to be absent from the Nashville ceremony, the Daily Mail reported.
Why didn’t the Tuohys adopt Oher?
Sean Tuohy claims that because Oher was 18 when his family wanted to take him in, they were no longer able to adopt him and needed to enter a conservatorship contract to make him a part of their family.
“We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn’t adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship,” Tuohy told the Daily Memphian. “We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court,” even though she was not legally required for the conservatorship to be granted.
What’s the difference between a conservatorship and an adoption?
Under Tennessee law, a conservatorship “removes the decision-making powers and duties” from “a person with a disability who lacks the capacity to make decisions in one or more important areas.”
It effectively deems a person unable to enter legal contracts by themselves, giving their conservators full legal powers to act on their behalf — even without their consent.
The term has gained notoriety following Britney Spears’ successful legal battle to terminate the conservatorship her father had over her.
A conservatorship is different from an adoption, which merely transfers parental rights from one adult to another. Through adoption, the Tuohys would not have been able to enter legal contracts without Oher’s approval.
What has Oher filed in court?
Nearly 20 years after the Tuohys took him in, Oher is asking a Tennessee probate court to have the conservatorship terminated.
Oher also claims the Tuohys have been lying to him about his situation for years, alleging that they tricked him into believing he was actually adopted, a fact he said he only found out about recently.
In their rebuttal, the Tuohys’ lawyer said the conservatorship was purely to help Oher get his life on track, get him health insurance and “helping with college admissions.”
The lawyer added in a statement to TMZ: “Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at anytime in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way.”
Oher, now a father of four, is also asking for a full accounting of the money earned off the use of his name, from which he claims he never saw any profits.
How much did the Touhys make from ‘The Blind Side’?
According to the legal filings, the Tuohys, along with their two birth children, each made $225,000 off “The Blind Side,” plus 2.5 percent of the “defined net proceeds.”
Meanwhile, Oher claimed he did not see a cent from the movie, which grossed $300 million at the box office, despite being its main focus.
Sean Tuohy Jr. told Barstool Radio on Monday that he could understand Oher’s frustration over not getting paid for the film, adding that he has only received about $60,000 to $70,000 in royalties over the years.
Sean Sr. said his family has not seen millions of dollars in revenue from the deal, and that when it came to the novel it was based on, the whole family, including Oher, received an equal share of $14,000 each.
The dad instead attributes his family’s wealth to his previous success in fast food, with Sean selling his conglomerate of franchises for more than $200 million.
How much is Michael Oher worth?
Oher has come a long way from the penniless high school football star crashing at his friends’ houses.
The 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, Oher wound up playing eight NFL seasons and started 110 career games.
He got his start with the Baltimore Ravens, signing a five-year contract at $13.5 million and winning the Super Bowl with the team in 2013.
The following year, Oher signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Tennessee Titans, but he was released after playing just 11 games because of a toe injury.
He subsequently joined the Carolina Panthers in 2015 on a $7 million contract for two years. His final contract came in 2016 with the Panthers at $21.6 million for three years.
He was released by the Panthers in July 2017 and retired shortly afterward. He currently lives in a $1.3 million Tennessee mansion with his wife and children.
