It’s difficult to even unpack all of the layers of racism, white supremacy, white-saviorism and regular old fraud when it comes to this week’s revelations about Michael Oher and the Tuohy family. When Oher was a gifted-but-poor teen, the Tuohys were one of several Memphis families taking him in and looking after him. They offered to adopt him, they had him sign some papers and up until February of his year, Oher believed that they were his adoptive parents. Turns out, it was all a lie – they never adopted him, they scammed him into a conservatorship which defrauded Oher out of millions of dollars. He received no money for his life rights, which were used to make The Blind Side. Oher released a new statement the day after he filed a lawsuit against the Tuohys and petitioned to have the court remove the conservatorship.
Former NFL player Michael Oher has released a statement after he filed a legal petition to terminate a conservatorship, in which he alleges Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy lied about adopting him while making millions off his name. On Monday, Oher, 37, filed a petition claiming that the Tuohy family did not legally adopt him but tricked him into making them his conservators before earning millions from his falsified life story, which was depicted in the film The Blind Side.
“I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today,” Oher said in a statement issued to PEOPLE by a representative for the former NFL player. Oher’s statement continued, “This is a difficult situation for my family and me. I want to ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time. For now, I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and will offer no further comment.”
Yes, let the lawsuit speak for itself. Not only that, but let the Tuohys incriminate themselves by lying their asses off all over the place. Sean Tuohy – the patriarch of the Tuohy family and the man who lied about adopting Michael Oher for years – spoke to the Daily Memphian on Tuesday and these quotes are a lot:
Sean on Oher’s lawsuit: “We’re devastated. It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children. But we’re going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16.”
On the accusation that the Tuohys made money off of the movie: “We were never offered money; we never asked for money. My money is well-documented; you can look up how much I sold my company for. The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie. I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children.”
The conservatorship, Part 1: Tuohy insisted the conservatorship that prompted the filing of Monday’s petition was unrelated to the movie. Rather, it was a way to appease the NCAA, the nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics, when it appeared Oher was likely to play football at the University of Mississippi. Tuohy was an All-American point guard at the Southern university known as “Ole Miss” and an active supporter of the school. As such, he would qualify as a “booster” under NCAA rules.
The conservatorship Part 2: “Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn’t like tha. They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family. I sat Michael down and told him, ‘If you’re planning to go to Ole Miss — or even considering Ole Miss — we think you have to be part of the family. This would do that, legally.’ We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn’t adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship. We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court.”
What happened after the movie came out: Tuohy said that while he and his family had remained close with Oher following the film’s release in 2009, he began to notice some distance “maybe a year and a half ago…It’s upsetting, but it’s life, what are you going to do? Certain people will believe us and certain people won’t. No question, the allegations are insulting, but, look, it’s a crazy world. You’ve got to live in it. It’s obviously upset everybody. It’s hard because you have to defend yourself, but whatever he wants, we’ll do. We’re not in this for anything other than whatever he wants. If he’d have said, ‘I don’t want to be part of the family anymore,’ we’d have been very upset, but we absolutely would have done it.”
Whether he’s willing to end the conservatorship: “I want whatever Michael wants.”
There are so many sketchy parts of Sean Tuohy’s story – if everything was completely above-board with the conservatorship, why didn’t Oher know about it at the time? Why was he told it was an adoption? Why did the Tuohys tell people – including the filmmakers and journalists – that they adopted him? If the conservatorship was just an NCAA work-around, why wasn’t the conservatorship removed after Oher left Ole Miss and joined the NFL? Why was Oher not consulted about his life rights and why did he not profit whatsoever from the film? This whole thing is so unsettling.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Sean, SJ and Leigh Anne Tuohy of The Blind Side attend the New York Premiere of “The Heat” on June 23,2013 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. The movie stars Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Joey McIntyre, Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo, Nate Corddry, Steve Bannos, Spoken Reasons and Adam Ray. photo by Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ LFI,Image: 545441124, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 917 704 9816 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ LFI / Twin Images / Avalon
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- Sean, Sean , Jr, Leigh Anne and Collins Tuohy, the family the story is based on arriving at The New York Premiere of “The Blind Side” on November 17, 2009 at The Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Picture by,Image: 547137636, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Twin Images / Avalon
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- February 9, 2011: Baltimore Ravens player Michael Oher appears on the PIX 11Morning News to promote his new book ‘Beat the Odds’ in New York City. Credit: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com Ref: infusny-146|sp| Featuring: Michael Oher Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 09 Feb 2011 Credit: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com
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- February 9, 2011: Baltimore Ravens player Michael Oher appears on the PIX 11Morning News to promote his new book ‘Beat the Odds’ in New York City. Credit: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com Ref: infusny-146|sp| Featuring: Michael Oher Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 09 Feb 2011 Credit: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com
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- November 17, 2009: Sean Tuohy, Sean Tuohy, Jr., Leigh Anne Tuohy, and Collins Tuohy attending the New York premiere of ‘The Blind Side’ on in New York City. Credit: B. Ach/INFevents.com Ref.: infusny-84 Featuring: Sean Tuohy, Jr., Leigh Anne Tuohy, Collins Tuohy Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 25 Jun 2009 Credit: B. Ach/INFevents.com
This is modern day slavery. They profited from Oher’s labor and pat themselves on the back that they gave him a home and 3 meals a day so its okay. I bet they even say Oher’s benefited from them stealing millions of dollars from him because he got to learn special skill. As if they would have made half this effort for someone without a talent they could profit from.
Modern day slavery seems about correct.
Let Justice and Karma take care of this filthy who abused this man.
Okay. When Sean says he was told by counsel that you cannot adopt over the age of 18, that is patently FALSE. Adult adoptions happen all the time. The are a lot easier than minor adoptions. SO when he said that, not only is he a lying sack of excrement, it shows this lovely little legal definition…INTENT TO DEFRAUD.
I think they should thank their lucky stars that Michael hasn’t gone after them criminally. They have been enriching themselves off his name for years. They were doing as late as last week. Also the little “we love him as a 37 year just like we loved him as a 16 year old” is PR BS. These people are beneath contempt. I hope Michael gets every dime they made off his name. These people are TRASH
Yep. The Tennessean wrote an article on this. When you read what the difference is between a conservatorship and an adult adoption in TN, it just makes you sick to your stomach to see the lies the Tuohy’s told to scam Oher.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/08/15/blind-side-michael-oher-conservatorship-vs-adoption-tennessee/70594153007/
There was a Taco Bell in Vicksburg MS with a sign on the window that said “owned by the Tuohy’s from the movie the Blindside”. They knew what they were doing.
I also think his saying the only way Michael Oher could get into Mississippi was as some sort of legacy ’cause Tuohy had played there. That guy was going places & Ol’ Miss definitely wanted him & would have taken him regardless.
Oh, they definitely love him the same way they did when he was a teen: for what they could get from him!
These people are despicable. I hope he gets massive damages from them. Plus attorneys’ fees.
Oh & never forget that parents don’t have control (especially not financial) control over their children once the turn 18 so they REALLY don’t have financial control over someone who isn’t their child & this is WHY they lied to him to get him to sign the conservatorship making him believe it was an adoption. That is how calculating these people were. I question the ethics of the attorney who drew up the papers. Did they know? If so that could lead to a disbarment This is atrocious. Oh the son, SJ Jr said the same “we love him at 37 like we loved him at 16” PR BS to Barstool yesterday. Calculating grifters
I agree. As soon as I heard that Sean Tuohy had said that their lawyer told them no one could adopt anyone over 18 years old, I KNEW he was lying. And the weird thing is so does everyone else!! What lawyer would ever say such a thing?? MANY MANY adults get adopted when they are ADULTS over 18. How the hell is he going to squirm out of this?
I feel so badly for Michael Oher, what a disgusting thing to do to him. Pretending to adopt him? I hope Michael gets millions and the Tuohy’s get arrested for fraud.
Also I really loved the movie and now that’s ruined 🙁 I’d like to know how much the author of the book, Michael Lewis, knew about this – he is friends with Sean Tuohy. What a mess.
@Spikey, with you. I’ll admit I loved the movie. When the murmurings came out shortly after ??????? My husband didn’t buy into a lot of the story line. Especially the football parts. He would be like, when you’re on the line anything can happen-you can teach someone what to look out for but you can’t really teach instinct when it comes to change of plays.
I hope people are going after Tim McGraw for playing Sean Tuohy as much as they’re going after Sandra Bullock. Let’s not leave the white male out of the conversation. H3ll, Kathy Bates should be slammed too. The whole thing of pretending to adopt him (which the Tuohy’s had many years to clarify) is a shame. Oher not receiving residuals on the use/abuse of his name is even greater.
https://www.ryanmcfarlandlaw.com/family-law/adult-adoption/
This is the Deep South for you, a deeply problematic place that does its best to keep slavery alive, school-to-prison trajectory everywhere, and people like Tuohey.
That said-actors who had no idea about the true circumstances of the situation should not be blamed…they are actors not legal researchers!
Not just his labor. Football is dangerous and painful, and guys who play it risk long-term bodily and cognitive trauma every time they step onto the field.
They benefited from his pain.
@BeanieBean, that was my understanding, too — he was so talented that Ole Miss ALREADY wanted him. He didn’t need a leg up in the form of a “legacy” booster or whateverTF Tuohy did. This guy needs to shut up because he’s digging a bigger hole for himself with all of these blatant (and easily fact-checked!!) lies.
I’m also curious about Michael Lewis’s role in this. I didn’t read the book, so idk how faithful the movie was to it. But after reading yesterday that he was friends with Sean Tuohy, I’m side-eyeing him, and until now, I actually thought he was a good/respected author. But if he was involved with this entire sleazy situation and socializes with people like the Tuohys? Yikes.
I love what those Taco Bell employees did, lol!
“I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children.” Well his wife has been eating good off of this for years. And Michael is not his “child”. I don’t know the details of this story but if they ” adopted” Michael, why was his last name not Tuohy? Did Michael not want to change it? The whole thing seems fishy.
Nobody’s accusing Sean of making money off his children. He’s being accused of making money off his ward, whom he bamboozled into being his ward after misrepresenting a conservatorship as an adoption.
It’s a PR move. He wants people to think they consider Oher their child. His defense would be feasible except for a couple things – 1) He is flat out lying about being unable to adopt an adult 2) Why did they have Oher sign away the rights to his life story FOR NOTHING? Nobody does that. 3) Why didn’t Oher make anything from the movie but the Touhy’s and their children did? None of that adds up and it cannot be justified. These people are grifters and liars.
Exactly this. And the fact that his biological kids got a cut from this movie and it’s questionable if Michael got his share (or anything) tells you all you need to know. Disgusting people.
I will Say that the NCAA and it’s rules are extremely weird and punitive and subject to the whim of whomever they like or dislike at that time. I could see some truth to why this all started If “dad” was involved heavily at the school.
Except all that benefit of any doubt goes away immediately when they lied about it. Like If that was why they did what they did why didn’t anybody including their “child” know. It’s so gross.
Plus, his comment about “It’s not like I need $40K.” Really? You may not personally need it, but Michael may have wanted it. They gave him no chance and no say and he was a freaking adult! Plus, the gaslighting of their legal statement just galls me.
If this is true and I believe it is the these are some very horrible people. The lengths that pro will go to to make money is absolutely horrifying.
Pro = they. Typing to fast hitting wrong keys
This whole “we had money so why would we try to get more money?” defense is so offensive.
Being wealthy does not mean a person can’t be greedy and exploitative too
As if the rich aren’t the greediest people in the world. Amazon is the richest company in the world and Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world and he fights tooth and nail to make sure Amazon doesn’t pay taxes or fair wages. Wealthy donors donate with one goal cutting taxes and deregulating industries so they can save money. Eat the rich is a popular saying for a reason and that’s because they feed on us until there is nothing left. Wealth inequality is so high because the profits from labor is going to the wealthy and not to the people who generated the wealth. So this scam is right in line with what a wealthy person would do.
They didn’t care about money, they have money. They wanted to be FAMOUS! and Michael was the perfect vehicle for it.
Which is why all this backlash must be driving them crazy. They have spent decades being celebrated and beloved. Being exposed and rejected is their worst nightmare.
Good for Michael, we stand behind him!
I see this as a type of hoarding. It’s a sickness. People just don’t see it that way because only people who hoard animals, newspapers, etc are deemed in need of intervention.
Adult adoptions are a thing. What is he talking about?
They absolutely could have adopted him even over the age of 18. I think Sean Tuohy knows several people are implicated in this fraud–he’s lying because he’s panicking. I hope Michael gets justice.
Yeah, this was what got me. You can still be adopted after the age of 18.
Adult adoption is also legal in Tennessee where they were living when he was in high school. If they were so concerned about avoiding trouble with the NCAA, they should have hired a completely independent attorney for Michael alone to advise him on adult adoption. The fact that they did NOT do this leads me to believe the Tuohys are scumbags who took advantage of a poor kid with no family looking out for him.
Also, I saw an article last night about restaurant servers who are tweeting that they hope the Tuohys get treated exactly the same way they have behaved towards waitstaff over the years. It seems a lot of people in the Memphis area knew the Tuohys were terrible, awful people who mistreated people they perceived as lower status. I believe Michael even more now.
Oh yeah. r/Memphis on Reddit is full of servers talking about how horrible the Tuohy’s are, especially LeeAnn.
I’m not a lawyer, but my instincts tell me they didn’t want to adopt him, since he would then be their child legally and would inherit his share of their estate.
That is EXACTLY why they didn’t adopt Michael!!! God forbid if he is a sibling to their children which would guarantee him equal rights to their assets!!!!
It’s absolutely disgusting to have read the decades in which the Tuohy’s perpetuated his adoption narration lie over and over again!!
I hope that the Tuohy’s are sent straight into the hell that they have perpetrated against Michael since they first met.
It was ok for them to profit off of him directly and indirectly, but they couldn’t have him getting access to their assets.
Good point. Ugh, poor Michael. Worse than being just all on his own, is thinking he had a family and then being disillusioned in this way.
I heard lawyer involved in this conservatorship also profited from the movie deal, and should face significant penalties as well. I hope they also look at the judge who approved it. How does one get a permanent conservatorship on a capable, functional adult that last decades without review? Something really stinks about this whole process and it’s not just the white savior grifter family.
Exactly! How manipulative was this whole situation? No one asked Michael or evaluated his need for a conservatorship? This is all “good ole boy” club.
Even the Judge has questions! The Tuohys are panicking and why they hired Singer. Singer reps criminals like Bill Cosby.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/blind-side-revelations-expose-flimsy-conservatorship-oversight
Khilton – thanks for the Bloomberg link! I would hope that this story, coupled with Britney Spears case earlier, would cause some changes to conservatorships in US. Cringed at the abuse while watching fiction “I Care a Lot” on Netflix, while knowing those shenanigans were probably possible in every state. Maybe law schools will devise (or revise) some courses with new attention on conservatorships.
Atrocious, exploitation of a ward. Unconscionable, actually.
Sounds like Oher was most disappointed, at least initially, by his depiction in the movie as a slow-witted fellow who didn’t know about football before the Tuohys taught him. Then after hiring a lawyer who found the conservatorship documents this year, he felt the betrayal, even though he sorta accepted their explanation of it as a kind of adoption. The whole Tuohy legal wrangling makes zero sense to me (except for the Tuohy grift) because I don’t understand the mumble-NCAA-mumble cover. The fixation on Ole Miss seems pure Tuohy since Oher was getting other offers.
NCAA rules are so convoluted and arbitrary; athletic departments at big universities have departments dedicated to compliance; friend was NCAA compliance officer at LSU and said it was frustrating trying to understand the rationale.
Anyway, I’d bet the Tuohy’s, being big Ole Miss supporters, got a huge ego boost and probably a lot of booster perks when they got Michael to commit, even more when he was successful enough to make it to the NFL because football brings in huge $$ at Ole Miss, even more so when the team has viable NFL prospects. The booster/athlete relationship has always been sketchy; esp around the big football and men’s basketball programs.
I don’t understand why the NCAA needs this work around. I look forward to an explanation. The rest of it is as you say super sketchy. If he was over 18 at the time he should have been explained to him exactly what he was signing and what it meant, not that it was to make him ‘part of the family’. If he couldn’t be adopted after 18 why did he not know that?
I’m so mad about this now with the Tuohys trying to dominate PR cycle claiming Oher tried to shake them down for $15M. I’ll just have to leave this story alone till it goes to court because there is no explanation that will suffice unless it comes directly from NCAA or Ole Miss about their weird requirements. At least the requirements sound weird coming from Tuohys’ forked tongues.
Maybe he’s referring to Ole Miss legacy admissions? Sean went there and I’m sure was a booster.
He didn’t know it because it isn’t true. Adult adoptions are a thing.
I hope he gets 15 billion and White Saviour Barbie ends up in the poor house with her terrible husband. How very dare they?!
It’s awful on so many levels what he’s gone through. I hope he gets the justice he deserves, and more protections are set up for other talented youths being preyed on by rich families.
+1
I wish the best for Michael. This is heartbreaking.
If this was all above board too, why was Michael misrepresented so badly in the film about *his* life? And yeah, why did he just find out about the conservatorship?
I find it really hard to believe they only made $40k off of his story.
If we are just talking about the movie? Actually I do believe that’s all they made. 100% believe it. As this strike has shown Hollywood accounting is absolutely criminal level s**t.
Remember that studios still claim Men in Black and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (which made close to $1 billion) have never broken even to this day. So I’m sure the studio has The Blind Side on its books as a $300 million flop. 🙄
This is all sad and needs to be legally reviewed and worked through: but I have no problem believing Hollywood ripped them all off and the NCAA is nuts and sketchy.
I read that they negotiated payment on the backend. Nonetheless, even if they made $5, shouldn’t at least some have gone to Oher? And why would they have him sign away the rights to his life story for nothing? Then turn around and have every member of their own family profit?
That’s the thing though; studios do their accounting in such a manner that there is no or next to no “back end”. So the possibility that they negotiated some percentage on the back end that ended up paying next to nothing is very believable. He says he paid Michael equal shares of what they got? OK, fine. That’s for him to prove with paperwork. There is also a very very relevant issue as to whether Michael was appropriately represented in a way to get the best deal possible. But I would have no trouble believing the amount they got total from the movie is very low.
I’m more curious about this being a conservatorship in place until recently. The only time I’ve heard of such a thing was regarding Britney Spears. Does this mean the Tuohys were getting a cut of his NFL pay? Were they getting a yearly paycheck as conservators? Were they profiting the same way Britney’s dad was?
Wondering about that too Beanie. I wonder if they just left it and didn’t use it, so he didn’t know about it?
I’m pretty sure you can adopt someone over the age of 18. State laws vary, but if this took place in Mississippi, you could absolutely adopt someone over the age of 18. This sounds so fishy to me, and I feel awful for Oher.
On a side note, I’ve seen people attack Sandra Bullock over this, which is incredibly unfair to her. I’m sure she believed the story – we all did. She’s already having a difficult time, having recently lost her partner, and doesn’t need to be dragged into this by Twitter.
The person who should be dragged is Michael Lewis who wrote the book.
The movie itself was so creepy and uncomfortable.
And so fake. He scored on the “98th percentile for protective instincts” and is Ferdinand the Bull. (eyeroll)
He also accused Michael of trying this before and being unsuccessful, and is only trying again now (with new lawyers) because he has his book coming out. I read in a separate article that the lawyer who oversaw the conservatorship was a close family friend of the Tuohy’s that Michael was told to call “aunt”. I always knew the movie was a glossy Hollywood version of events, but never thought it misrepresented the truth to this extent. These people not only exploited him for their own financial gain but are now publicly gaslighting him (I guess that was to be expected). I can only imagine the pain all of this is causing Michael.
Yes, saw too, now they are saying he tried to shake the Tuohy’s down for $15 million, threatening to go public. I’d imagine Oher either tried himself or had an attorney attempt to negotiate a fair settlement when he found out about the conservatorship and financials. Tuohy’s ignored or shut it down, never thinking he’s go public, and now figure people are going to believe the good white Christian over the ungrateful poor black kid they saved.
Tuohy is an Old Miss alum. None of this is remotely surprising from that standpoint alone.
Precisely, Brassy.
His answer to the question whether he wanted the conservatorship to be ended should have been yes. Big red flag.
I’m anticipating an explanation from the NCAA because none of these excuses from the Tuohys make sense.
Michael Oher should have had his own lawyer from the start. Since Sean Tuohy was explaining things to him, it doesn’t sound like that was the case. Or, if he had a lawyer, that person wasn’t acting in Michael’s interest. In other words, it sounds like there were a lot of conflicts of interest here. Beginning with the fact that by Sean Tuohy’s own admission, he, as the person seeking to become conservator, was advising Michael Oher. All very sketchy.
Leigh Anne’s website to this day still states Michael was adopted. Her platform was based on that one lie.
They never ended the conservatorship because what Michael is stating is true. They lied and told him it was part of the adoption.
@ Bren, and to add insult to injury, she created an entire profession from their involvement with Michael!!!! This C you next Thursday has been an advocate of lifestyle’s and the resilience of their experience of adopting Michael!!!
That was a major talking point when they appeared on Below Deck.
In the movie, it was clear that they never adopted him. The questions really need to be addressed to the author of the book and the makers of the movie about what was paid to whom and when. If he was not paid for his own story by the author nor the filmmakers, then he needs to be suing them as well. The conservatorship is sketchy but as an attorney, I will tell you that conservatorships are notoriously problematic. As for the Tuohy’s, no doubt that they have made money off of him in some way, but what this sounds like is a family squabble with a lot of hurt feelings on all sides. If he’s a part of their family in a real way, it wouldn’t matter whether legal paperwork had been filed or not.
You can write about people without paying them.
Conservatorships should be problematic. It’s a big freaking deal that should be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Michael should have had representation. They knew what they were doing.
This is not a “family squabble.” There is no family here, just gold diggers.
@Baily, you said that “In the movie, it was clear that they never adopted him”. How was that clear? I saw the movie and I genuinely thought they had adopted him.
“In the movie, it was clear that they never adopted him.” Huh?
In Forbes article (initial WaPo reporting) Michael Lewis (who wrote the book based on hearing the story firsthand from his friend, Sean Tuohy) tries to put the blame on Hollywood. He says they sold film rights for $250K, but DOES NOT address Michael’s assertion that he never signed document giving 20th Century Fox rights to life story. Notably, Mr Lewis has said nothing about WaPo referring to him as friend of an “adoptive” father Tuohy:
“Lewis wrote the book, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game”, after hearing the story firsthand from Sean Tuohy, who was his childhood friend and who acted as an adoptive father to Oher, the Post reported.”
Disappointingly, but unsurprising, Michael Lewis has nothing bad to say about Tuohy friends and how they’ve profited from Oher connection, beyond book and movie.
Noted Tuohy website earlier had Leigh Ann Tuohy speaking fees priced at $50-$100K, but that info has since disappeared. Links to All American Entertainment Speakers Bureau for Ms Tuohy are broken now.
Gee, wonder why Oher petitioned court to make Tuohys keep his name outta their mouths.
The way Touhy says “the biological mother” feels like he’s telling on himself in how he objectifies Oher. She’s not “his biological mother” she’s “THE biological mother.”
That’s a very good point.
Objectifies both Oher and his mother.
“The biological mother” hurt my heart to read and reinforced everything I’ve believed about this family since the movie came out. I’m an adoptive mom to two Black sons and in a million years I’d never use that term – it’s so clinical and removed.
I was appalled at first but facts are coming out such as in Michaels book in 2011 he said he knew it was a conservatorship and that he received the same amount of money from the blind side as the rest of the family. Just recently he refused to accept it so they have it in a trust for Michaels children. The facts good or bad will come out. The Blind side book also states they couldn’t adopt him because of his age so to get him into Ole Miss and get him health and life insurance they did a conservatorship. The court hearing was with his bio mom as a conservatorship. Before we burn folks at the stake let’s gather all facts and let the courts do their jobs.
Fortunately, no one is being set alight. And there is absolutely no reason they couldn’t have legally adopted him, even as an adult.
Except, as other folks have pointed out, adult adoption is a thing that is legal. There’s no reason they didn’t actually adopt him other than they didn’t want to.
I didn’t read his book, but from the Amazon listing synopsis: ‘With his adoptive family, the Touhys, and other influential people in mind, he describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one’s dreams.’ Note the use of the term ‘adoptive family’. Michael Oher is not the bad guy here.
Meija –
From Michael Lewis’ Blind Side book (c2007, 2006), search for conservator* gets zero hits.
But there are multiple search hits on adopt*, such as on p262:
“Leigh Ann and Sean explained to him that, if he had any intention of going to Ole Miss, they really ought to go through the process of formally adopting him, so that the many gifts they had already bestowed on him might not be construed as boosters’ graft, but parental love.”
And on p510, at a Briarcrest Christian School football practice, after the team’s fallen on hard times, the football coach sees Sean Tuohy eyeballing pass rushing defensive end, Greg Hardy; he sidles up and asks Tuohy: “You gonna adopt this one too?” To which Sean replies, “I don’t know. I’m waiting to see how good he is.”
So “facts are coming out such as in Michaels book in 2011” he “knew it was a conservatorship…”
Facts should include citations.
Found the Tuohy or Tuohy crony, you literally just repeated their bs defense verbatim. We see right through you.
Your turn, NCAA.
Get your money, Oher! We’re cheering you on.
“We were never offered money; we never asked for money.”
What does this mean? This isn’t the same thing as saying, “We never MADE any money.” Did you make money off of Oher’s story or not? Did Oher make an equivalent amount or not? That should be easy to clarify.
This guy is so sleazy…the way he words everything is slimy like that.
He talks on Below Deck how he negotiated the use of his name with Harvey Weinstein & Steven Spielberg. Yeah, they were offered $$ and asked for more $$.
Genuine question — is it much easier/faster to get a conservatorship than an adoption? It seems like the family found a ‘quick’ way to legally bind Michael and his money to them. Also, why didn’t the existence of a conservatorship raise a flag when he signed with the NFL, especially since the Touhys would presumably be getting Michael’s paychecks? It sounds like the family owes Michael a LOT of money. This will be an interesting story to watch.
This is the part that I don’t understand. How was he entering into contracts with a conservatorship in place? Were they getting a cut of all his money? How did he get paid? Don’t you have to prove incompetence to be granted a conservatorship? Why did it last all these years? Doesn’t this need to be reviewed periodically to see if the person is capable of taking care of their affairs?
I have the same questions. Were they getting a cut of his NFL pay? Were they getting regular payments that went higher every year he played?
@BeanieBean Emily Baker is on YT and is going through the lawsuit. It seems while the Conservatorship was in place. None of his books or NFL contracts were approved by the conservatorship. So for that. It doesn’t sound like they took any cut of his income past the book and movie. I am making a big guess here on that. In case other documents come out.
It sounds like to me they didn’t care about the Conservatorship after they got what they needed out of him. With college football, the book and movie rights. I still think Fame was their real endgame here.
What I don’t understand is how could Micchael’s sports agent, legal representation. The NFL with its 5,000 lawyers did not know he was under a conservatorship and technically could not sign his own contracts. I mean the cracks this fell through were ginormous.
Watch the movie. It says specifically that they would not adopt him because he was 18 but used the term “guardianship.” I think there are two sides to this story and if you read their lawyer’s statement, they have the receipts to show what was given to Michael. There might be wrongs on both sides of this but I have to agree with the logic that it seems unlikely a family worth hundreds of millions – and who have a charity promoting blended families, whether or not that is for ego as much as for genuinely wanting to help – would scam Michael out of a relatively small amount of money (at least according to them it was small beans). I’m also confused about how, if he is unable to sign contracts without their assistance, he was able to sign contracts for the millions he earned as a football player. It’s confusing.
But part of the issue is that they have made a lot of money on the motivational speaker circuit talking about adopting Michael. This story fits all sorts of narratives terrible people want to hear: sports and redemption; we’re not racists; poor Black kids just need to be taken away from their horrible mothers, so many more.
Where is it shown that they have made a lot of money as motivational speakers? She has a foundation that looks like a nonprofit to me. I’m not saying they are perfect and all the facts will come out. I get why he was frustrated by the movie depiction – not sure they are to blame for that though. And they say anything earned from the movie was shared equally and that they have the receipts. We will see but maybe, just maybe these are really good people who tried to help out someone in need and for whatever reasons things have gone sour.
Liz, go look up sean and his daughter. I have seen where they give speeches about this. My guess is that there is all kinds of information you can find on the internet. Someone above said that on LeAnn’s social media she uses the word adopted. Go to Amazon and read the synopsis about the book. It says adopted. There’s a lot going on here, because I’m thinking that book was NOT Michael talking to the author. It was the Touhy’s talking to the author. The movie was based on the book. There’s a lot here that doesn’t make any sense. Why did the Touhys use the conservatorship for the book and movie, but not NFL contracts? Does that make sense to you?
Did Michael have his own lawyer review these documents? Because if not that’s a red flag. And there was no need for this conservatorship to exist beyond his college years either, if that is even a legitimate reason to set that up.
These are business people who saw a business opportunity and took it. They could have adopted him and chose not to. What they did is set up a situation where they could profit from Michael while keeping him out of their own money. He believed what they said to him and I’m sure they have receipts for it all but it was not done for his benefit. Legal or not, they had the upper hand and took advantage of him. Seems to be a thing in Mississippi (like good old Brett Favre). Probably why that state ranks last in just about every aspect.
The whole thing reeks. I’m not sure the NCAA would object to a family adopting an at-risk child. It may have warranted an investigation if someone lodged a complaint, but who would when you’re fed this heartwarming, white savior story. Michael Oher seemed to be a part of the family. The reality is that this rich white family didn’t want to adopt this Black man, but took full advantage of him and his family and stole millions from them. I saw an article last night that Oher asked the family for $15M to compensate him. They refused and he sued. They could have easily paid him and avoided what’s going to be a messy discovery.
@ TheOriginalMia, that is what is the crux of this entire situation!! They didn’t want to adopt Michael but they DID want to control his financial affairs all while painting themselves as the white saviors.
IF the Touhys had NOT perpetuated this lie for decades they easily would have looked clean from not taking advantage of Michael. The entire series of events that played out in the background are what is coming to light and showing the Tuohys of who they actually are and are not.
The lies have finally caught up to ALL of them as there were many, many players that were instrumental into deceiving Michael since that first encounter.
Even the Judge has questions. It is legal
In all 50 states to adopt an adult.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/blind-side-revelations-expose-flimsy-conservatorship-oversight
From the article:
The Tuohys, they said, never filed yearly accountings of the conservatorship, as required. Nor did they file required fiduciary or other statements “to inform the Court as to whether the conservatorship should continue.”
Retired probate judge Benham said the clerk’s office, not the judge, would be responsible for flagging any late or unfiled reports.
I have so many thoughts. I keep typing and deleting because I have so many thoughts about this.
No matter what the Tuohys are saying now, there is no excuse for their participation in a movie that depicted Oher — whom they said they loved as a son — as a teenager with learning disabilities so acute that he didn’t understand the basic rules of football.
If they really loved him, they would have denounced the movie’s portrayal of Oher. Instead, they seemed to revel in their role as white saviors. That’s grotesque.
This is how I feel. Even if they didn’t make a bunch of money from the movie and fail to share it. Even if they didn’t use the conservatorship to get any of his NFL money. The problem is they wanted to bask in the glow of this story which mis-portrayed Michael and their relationship with him, made them look better and more altruistic than they really are taking agency away from him.
He was already good at football and knew a lot about it. The movie made it look like they taught him to play. The movie never mentioned that other families helped him out too. They are trying to take credit for his success, credit they didn’t earn and don’t deserve. It’s icky and exploitative.
To tie this to the SAG/AFTRA strike. Allegedly part of the deal negotiated by the family was signing away to 20th the perpetual and exclusive right to Michal’s brand and personal experiences without compensation to Michael. If true and enforced (he claims his signature was forged). This means the Studio can make a series, a remake of the movie, and stream it a billion times on every media platform. Michael Oher does not make one dime for it.
If this sounds outrageous to you this is exactly the nonsense SAG-AFTRA is fighting against.
All of this had very little to do with what was best for Michael, and everything to do with protecting assets. If Michael had been adopted, legally he would then be on equal footing with the biological children, and that could have given him a claim to the family’s non-football fortune. A conservatorship means they have access to his money, but he wouldn’t have a claim on theirs.
And phooey on their statement that “they all shared equally”. Equal doesn’t mean fair in this scenario. It should have been – at the very least – Michael 50%, and the rest of the family 50%. Splitting it equally among all of them means Michael only gets 20%, which is hardly an equitable distribution.
I know people are harping on future inheritance but. I really doubt that has anything to do with it. Under Mississippi law, a will must include the surviving spouse, but parents do not have to leave part of their estate to their children. To disinherit a particular child, the parent should clearly state it in the will. They could have cut Michael out regardless if he was adopted or not. Though he could contest it and spend a good amount of legal fees eating up the estate. Nor from his statements do I think he even cares about that. They just used them for their own gains.
I just really think it was about scouting and getting him to play for Ole Miss Football Team. And this was the fastest way for them to accomplish their goals. They are obsessed with their Alma Mater and gave them Michael as a gift. If he wasn’t a talented player they wouldn’t have lifted a finger to help him.
“They are obsessed with their Alma Mater and gave them Michael as a gift.” This is what slave owners did. They gifted Black human beings to others.
This! If Michael was a high school All American he was being heavily recruited by all the big college programs. While this is getting all the press, it’s not uncommon for boosters to get involved in the process and use relationships, their money, etc. to help get talented athletes, often black and low income, to commit to their alma maters.
If you’ve ever seen it first hand, boosters of big athletic programs, IMO usually southern schools and football (it’s a sport in the north, religion in the south) are fanatical and influential over the programs they support. And the NCAA is pretty sketchy too…like the NFL they are selective in what they do so as not to disrupt their billion dollar organization.
It would be interesting to see the timeline of when Michael Lewis (high-school friend of Sean T.) approached the Touhys (or they approached him) about the book. The conservatorship may not be all about getting into Ole Miss.
(This is not implicating Lewis, I have a feeling he is probably as duped as everyone else.)
This whole story is so enraging. I really hope Michael wins his case against the Tuohys. They took advantage of a vulnerable young man, profited off his talent and, as we say in these parts, “want to play saint.” I hope justice prevails here.
I want to know what the Touhy children knew. They weren’t little babies then. They’re also in their 30s now. Did they not know in any of this time that their parents brokered a deal where they each (except for Michael) received $250k for the movie? And a family (except for Michael) payout of 2.5% of movie net? Suss AF
I don’t even understand why their kids made any money off of this. This was not their story…it was Michael’s !
Republicans gotta grift.
They should be prosecuted for human trafficking.
How did he make it through an entire NFL career not knowing he was in a conservatorship? Wouldn’t they have had to sign his contracts? (genuine question, this has been bugging me)
Haven’t they made enough money off of him to settle this. If they fear he will be takening advantage of (AGAIN) then set up a trust. They owe him millions. The end. They need to show where they spent his money on him. Either they settle this or someone will refer them for prosecution. Too many people liked the movie “the blindside”. And if sandra bullock says anything then their chances of going to jail increase.
I’m just wondering, did no one question why he didn’t change his last name when he was “adopted”. Don’t you usually do that?
Also, Sean is worth around $40 million (due to him selling his business). I do wonder about the money part. A few thousand dollars would be nothing to him. There has got to be more to this story. I heard Michael is about to release a memoir. Maybe we’ll hear more about the details.
This story just makes me sick. I truly have no words for how horrible this is, I mean this is just evil.
Omg, this is too much. I wish Michael the best. This has to hit hard for him, a life of lies!!!
Emily D Baker has a good analysis of the legal situation in this case. She found the legal documents that are public so far. She has a YT channel worth watching.