Michael Oher said Tuesday he’s no fan of the movie that made him a household name.
The Carolina Panthers left tackle told ESPN.com that The Blind Side – the 2009 film about his life – has had a negative effect on his NFL career.
“[It’s] taken away from my football,’’ Oher said at a minicamp on Tuesday. “That’s why people criticize me. That’s why people look at me every single play.’’
The movie, based on Michael Lewis’s 2006 best-seller The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, told the story of Oher’s unlikely ascent from abject poverty to the NFL with the aid of adopted parents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Sandra Bullock. The film took in more than $250m at the box office, making it the highest grossing sports film ever, with Bullock bringing home the Best Actress Oscar.
Oher, 29, was chosen in first round of the 2009 draft by Baltimore and started all 80 games for the Ravens over five seasons, winning Super Bowl XLVII in 2012. But he proved inconsistent and prone to penalties in his final season with the team, which ended with his release.
In March 2014, the Memphis native signed a $20m deal that included $9.5m guaranteed with the Tennessee Titans, but started just 11 games before being placed on injured reserve with a toe injury with five games remaining.
Now with the Panthers after inking a two-year, $7m deal in March, Oher is expected to start at left tackle for a team that won the NFC South and defeated the Arizona Cardinals in a wild card playoff game before bowing to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.
Yet he confessed Tuesday his association with the film remains an uncomfortable one.
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” Oher said. “People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don’t really see the skills and the kind of player I am. That’s why I get downgraded so much, because of something off the field.
“This stuff, calling me a bust, people saying if I can play or not ... that has nothing to do with football. It’s something else off the field. That’s why I don’t like that movie.’’
