Everything you thought you knew about the inspiring football story told in The Blind Side might have been based on a lie.
According to an ESPN report by Michael A. Fletcher, former NFL offensive tackle Michael Oher — the main subject of The Blind Side — filed a petition with a Tennessee court Monday alleging Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy never legally adopted him and exploited him and his story for their own financial benefit.
As this story continues to develop, here’s everything we know so far.
1
Oher alleges he was never adopted by the Tuohy family
The petition’s biggest bombshell alleges the Tuohys tricked Oher into making them his conservators, not adoptive parents, which gave them authority to conduct business on his behalf. Oher allegedly learned the truth about the conservatorship in early 2023, according to the petition, learning he had no legal ties to the Tuohy family. Oher alleges he has no memory of signing the conservator contract, and if he did, he did not have it properly explained to him.
The 14-page petition, filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court, alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who took Oher into their home as a high school student, never adopted him. Instead, less than three months after Oher turned 18 in 2004, the petition says, the couple tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.
2
Oher alleges he received no royalties from The Blind Side
From ESPN:
The petition further alleges that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to strike a deal that paid them and their two birth children millions of dollars in royalties from an Oscar-winning film that earned more than $300 million, while Oher got nothing for a story “that would not have existed without him.”
According to their 2010 book, the Tuohys say they divided all money received evenly among Oher, their biological children and themselves.
3
The Blind Side took creative liberties with Oher's story, which he alleges harmed his reputation
Beyond the lack of royalty checks or payments, Oher’s relationship with the Tuohys was allegedly strained because of the inaccurate portrayal of his intelligence in the film. Oher alleges this hurt his long-term prospects as a professional football player because it was a stigma he could not shake with coaches and front offices.
“Oher certainly led a hard-knock life growing up. But he also had the smarts, the pluck and plenty of help from the Tuohys and others to rise above his circumstances.”
4
Oher says he didn't dig into the Tuohys' alleged deception until he was done playing in the NFL
Because the release of The Blind Side coincided with the start of Oher’s NFL career in 2009, it took years for him to dig into any of this. The former offensive lineman stopped playing professional football in 2016 and eventually hired an attorney that started looking into the matter.
Oher played in two Super Bowls with the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers over the course of his career.
