As a high school student in 2004, Oher signed a document he believed was part of the adoption process, according to a petition filed in Tennessee probate court. He realized in February that the documents had stripped him of his rights, the petition said.
Oher, 37, is asking the court to end the Tuohys’ conservatorship. Oher He alleges he was never paid for the film about his life, and is asking the Tuohy family to give him a portion of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’s made from his name and story.
“While the other parents of Michael’s classmates saw Michael as a good kid, conservators Sean Tuohy and Lee Ann Tuohy saw something else: a manipulative young man who could use sportsmanship for their own benefit,” the petition states. Filed in Shelby County, Tenn.
Steven Fares Jr., an attorney representing the Tuohys, declined to comment when contacted by The Washington Post.
The Tuohys did not respond to requests for comment Monday night, but Sean Tuohy said Daily Memphis That he would terminate Oher’s conservatorship. He told the newspaper that he received the money from his family Michael Lewis, The author of the book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” — on which the movie is based — split it between himself, his wife, his two children and Oher. Each received about $14,000, he said.
“We are devastated,” he told the Daily Membion. “It’s sad to think that any of our children will make money. But we’re going to love Michael at 37 the way we loved him at 16.
Sean Tuohy Jr., son of Lee Anne and Sean, said Barstool game He said Monday that he has earned about $65,000 from movies over the past four or five years.
In a statement ABC24Oher described the revelations as “a difficult situation for my family and myself.”
“For now, I’ll let the case speak for itself and make no further comment,” he said.
Oher wrote about his unstable childhood in Memphis in his 2011 memoir, “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond.” He wrote that his mother was addicted to crack and that he and his siblings were placed in foster care. Oher attended 11 schools in his first nine years as a student The New York Times.
Oher was recruited to play football at a private high school and developed into one of the nation’s best Offensive lineman recruiting. He slept at classmates’ homes, including the Tuohys’ home, with two children who attended the same school as Oher, the petition states.
Before Oher’s senior year in 2004, the Tuohys asked him to move into their Memphis home and adopt him, according to the petition. Hoping to speed up the process, Oher signed documents that turned out to be conservatorship documents, the petition alleges. The Tuohys did not take legal action to adopt Oher, the petition states.
under Tennessee lawA conservatorship removes decision-making powers from someone who “lacks decision-making capacity.”
“The Tuohys said they loved Michael and wanted to legally adopt him,” the petition states. “Michael trusted them, was happy to be part of a real and stable family, and trusted Mr and Mrs Tuohy completely.”
Oher began playing at the University of Mississippi in 2005. In September 2006, a book about Oher’s life, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Lewis, was published. A spokesman for Lewis did not respond to a request for comment Monday night.
After the book’s release, Lee Anne and Sean Tuohy began negotiating a movie deal that paid them and their biological children $225,000 each and 2.5 percent of the film’s revenue, according to Oher’s petition. In 2007, Oher signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox that gave him the rights to his story without his knowledge and without payment, according to the petition.
In “The Blind Side,” it paid off More than $300 million, the Tuohys accept Oher. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lee Ann Tuohy.
Oher’s petition alleges that the Tuohys said they adopted him “to gain financial advantage for themselves.”
Oher became an All-American offensive tackle before graduating in 2009, and was selected 23rd overall in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He was part of the team that won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 before playing for the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.
In 2015, Oher told ESPN that he didn’t like how he was portrayed in the movie. He said being known for the movie instead of his skills hurt his NFL career. He has not played in the league since the Panthers released him in July 2017.
Oher examined the documents he signed as a teenager and hired a lawyer. ESPN reported.
“The Tuohys have falsely and publicly represented themselves as Michael’s adoptive parents,” the petition states, “continuing as of the filing date of this petition.”
