Former NFL offensive tackle Michael Oher, whose story of adoption by a wealthy white family was portrayed in the 2009 movie The Blind Side, said that the Tuohy family never actually adopted him but faked that fact to make money off his name, according to ESPN.
Oher filed a 14-page petition Monday in a Shelby County, Tenn., court that said Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy coerced Oher to sign a document so they could become his conservators shortly after he turned 18 in 2003. Although the Tuohys have long referred to Oher as their adopted son, Oher says that it not the case.
The Tuohy family took in Oher as a 17-year-old high school student, letting him live in their house and providing him with clothes and food. They continued supporting him in his college playing career at Ole Miss, and then in the NFL when he was selected in the first round of the 2009 draft by the Ravens.
But royalties from the movie, which earned more than $300 million and earned actress Sandra Bullock an Academy Award, went to the Tuohys without Oher receiving any proceeds, he said in the legal filing.
Oher brought the matter to court to end the conservatorship and ban the Tuohys from using his name, image and likeness in the future. Since their story gained national attention, the family has referred to Oher as their adoptive son.
“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the legal filing states, via ESPN. “Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.”
Oher’s legal team also is asking the Tuohys to provide a list of all the money they’ve earned from his name, image and likeness over the years so that they can pay the former NFL player his fair share.
The Tuohys have stated that Oher earned a fair share of The Blind Side royalties they received. Oher’s lawyer, J. Gerard Stranch IV, said the player never received any money from the movie.
“Mike didn’t grow up with a stable family life,” Stranch said. “When the Tuohy family told Mike they loved him and wanted to adopt him, it filled a void that had been with him his entire life. Discovering that he wasn’t actually adopted devastated Mike and wounded him deeply.”
The Tuohys have not yet publicly commented about the petition.
