Former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher claims that his life story, which was turned into the feel-good film “The Blind Side,” is based on a lie. More specifically, he alleges that the white couple who claimed to have adopted him instead entered him into a conservatorship for their own financial gain.
The 2009 first round draft pick filed a petition to terminate the custodial agreement after learning he was not a legal member of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s family in February.
“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,” stated the documents that were filed in a Shelby County Court in Tennessee.
The retired athlete began living with the Tuohys the summer before his senior year of high school in 2004.
At that time, the couple reportedly expressed their intention to adopt him, but instead they are accused of presenting him with conservatorship papers. They allegedly explained to Oher that it was just another word used to adopt a person who is considered a legal adult by the state.
Oher’s story of being a homeless ward of the state beginning at age 11 was first published by author Michael Lewis in 2006. Three years later, the Tuohys inked a $225,000 deal with 20th Century Fox to adapt the football player’s life into the highly successful film “The Blind Side.” They are also alleged to have earned 2.5 percent of the movie’s profits.
The movie, which was distributed by Warner Bros., had a reported $29 million budget and made more than $300 million at the box office. But Oher never saw a dime from its success. He alleges that the deal worked out by the Tuohys cut him out of the profits made from the rights to his name and likeness.
Sandra Bullock, who played Leigh Anne, won Best Actress for her portrayal and the film for Best Picture at the 2010 Academy Awards. The actress also scored wins at the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. Critics of the film have long lamented that it was a flawed story anchored by a “white savior” plot.
“Where other parents of Michael’s classmates saw Michael simply as a nice kid in need, Conservators Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy saw something else: A gullible young man whose athletic talent could be exploited for their own benefit,” said the petition.
It also states that “At no point did the Tuohys inform Michael that they would have ultimate control of all his contracts, and as a result, Michael did not understand that if the Conservatorship was granted, he was signing away his right to contract for himself.”
The conservatorship should have concluded when Oher turned 25 or when the contract was terminated by the court, but neither has happened. Now 37 years old, he is asking that the legal arrangement be ended and that the couple be prohibited from using his name and likeness.
