Former Ole Miss All-American and NFL offensive tackle, Michael Oher, sent shockwaves through the football world when he filed a lawsuit against the Tuohy family alleging they never legally adopted him and lied about their family status for financial gain.
Of course, their story is the subject of the 2009 hit film, “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. It would go on to gross more than $300 million.
Oher claims all four members of the Tuohy family each received millions of dollars from the film, while he didn’t receive anything.
According to reports, an alleged conservatorship allowed the Tuohys to take control of Oher’s financials even though he was not a legal member of the family.
“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,” the legal filing reads.
Former NFL player Michael Oher, subject of "The Blind Side," petitioned a court Monday with allegations that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never adopted him, instead tricking him into a signing a document making them his conservators and enriching themselves. https://t.co/x5EsGu3IVc
— ESPN (@espn) August 14, 2023
However, some members of the Touohy family are speaking out against the accusations.
Sean “SJ” Tuohy Jr., the biological son of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the family that famously adopted Oher, responded to Oher’s recent petition to end the 2004 conservatorship and revealed alleged evidence that Oher may have been aware of his non-official adoption status before February 2023.
Speaking with Barstool Sports, Tuohy shared that text messages between Oher and the Tuohy family suggested that Oher might have known about his non-official adoption status as early as 2020.
He expressed skepticism over Oher’s claim that he only discovered the truth in February 2023.
“If he says he learned that in February, I find that hard to believe,” SJ Tuohy Jr. said. “I went back to my texts today to look at – our family group text and texts to see what things have been said.. There were things back in 2020, 2021 that were like, ‘If you guys give me this much, then I won’t go public with things.’ So I don’t know if that’s true. I think everyone learned in the past year about the conservatorship stuff because of Britney Spears, so maybe that’s the case, but it doesn’t add up.”
Michael Oher's brother SJ Tuohy joined @BarstoolRadio to speak on the lawsuit from Michael Oher's team pic.twitter.com/g1z2dhoIxg
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 14, 2023
Oher filed the petition in a Tennessee court yesterday to end the conservatorship that he alleges was misleadingly presented to him as an adoption. The petition asserts that the Tuohy family enriched themselves by perpetuating the lie of Oher’s adoption.
“Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship… provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohy’s,” the petition read.
The legal filings recounted Oher’s early struggles, including his removal from his birth family’s custody and his eventual connection with the Tuohy family, whose children attended the same school.
The Tuohys never pursued legal custody or guardianship of Oher during his minority, but they allegedly assured him of their intention to adopt him.
Sean Tuohy Sr., also speaking out on Monday, expressed his devastation over the situation. He acknowledged that the family contacted lawyers who advised them that adopting someone over the age of 18 would require a conservatorship.
He emphasized that the family’s intention was never to profit from their children, including Michael Oher, and that their earnings from “The Blind Side” were comparable and fair.
“I’ve made like $60, $70 grand over the course of the last four or five years,” SJ Tuohy Jr. said.
Despite the legal dispute, SJ Tuohy Jr. spoke positively about Oher and their relationship, expressing his hope that Oher receives his entitled legal outcome.
Surely there will be much more to come from this story.. Stay tuned.