Jason Whitlock conned Michael Oher into filing a legal petition against the Tuohy family, which provided the troubled teen with a stable environment ahead of his college and professional football careers.
Whitlock surgically criticized the former NFL player who accused the Tuohys of deliberately defrauding and exploiting him for financial gain on Fearless with Jason Whitlock. As always, the BlazeTV host flatly rebuked allegations made by Oher in a Tennessee court filed Monday.
“Why are members of the media joining Oher’s attempt to take down the Tuohy family for money on the pretext that they lied to him and exploited him for profit?” Whitlock argued.
Then came a typically flammable comment — similar to the one that brought him national exposure on The Kansas City Star, ESPN, and Fox Sports.
“What he is doing to the family is reprehensible. He’s telling an obvious lie that he knows most media outlets are too afraid to ask questions because he’s black,” he said.
BlazeTV journalist Jason Whitlock fired Michael Oher and labeled his actions as ‘despicable’
Oher (center) filed a legal petition against Sean (left) and Leigh Anne Tuohy (right) on Monday.
‘Besides, the media is lazy; it is easier to repeat allegations than to question and/or investigate their legitimacy.
It’s also easier to just feel sorry for Michael Oher; it’s broken. The first 15 years of his life are a tragedy – that’s not my opinion – read his (2011) book, it’s his own words. His mother was addicted to crack cocaine and gave birth to a dozen children by different men.’
In 2004, when he was 18 years old, Oher and his birth mother signed a petition making the Tuohys his custodians — in other words, they were able to legally conduct business interests on his behalf. In his 2011 bestseller I beat the oddsOher described his version of how it came about.
“They explained to me that it means something like ‘adoptive parents,’ but that the laws were written to take my age into account.”
Oher joined Marshall Ramsey Now you’re talking to Michael Ramsey Monday morning, to promote his latest book; When your back is against the wallwhich adds another layer of curiosity regarding the timing of the submission.
The 37-year-old has expressed his dissatisfaction on several occasions The blind side film and its depiction of him – and even suggests it influence on his football career.
“Whatever you see in the movie or books, you have to understand what it took to be this 18-year-old boy when this story took shape,” Oher told Ramsey.
And the things I’ve been through and had to do to get through to that point I’ve been through, from age 3 to age 18, when I moved in with the Tuohy family — who I’m thankful for having me my senior year let’s stay there.
Oher is seen with Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy after the NFC title match in January 2016
Oher was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft
The 37-year-old earned $34.5 million in nine NFL seasons after the release of The Blind Side
“But you have to understand that I was an All-American football player before I moved in with them, you have to understand what it took to get to this point.”
Oher’s rhetoric during Monday’s interview certainly lends itself, alongside previous interviews on the subject, to an apparent desire for more personal praise for his own part in the rags-to-riches story.
“Michael Oher wants credit,” Whitlock added. ‘I get it, I really do. He wants to be the star and hero of his own movie. Most people do. Oher lacks self-awareness, humility and possibly intelligence. Earning $34 million as an average professional athlete is sure to create some delusional thinking.”
Whitlock’s strong rebuke didn’t stop there.
Michael Oher is so arrogant and delusional that he believes his natural intellect would have developed regardless of the circumstances. It’s a naive worldview. He is still naive. He believes that this desperate attempt to bring down the family who welcomed him into their home is a good impression and will lead to a financial windfall. It’s not. As lazy as the media, as lazy as reporters and pundits are, they will have to deal with the truth.
“The Tuohys were wealthy when they took legal custody of Oher. They sold their family business for $200 million. They had no financial motive to exploit Oher. They exercised no control over his professional career.’
Oher’s rags-to-riches story was made into the 2009 Oscar-winning film The Blind Side
Oher claimed he was tricked into signing a document that made the Tuohy’s conservators — not his adoptive parents — then allowed them to take advantage of him
Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the beloved film
During his four years at Oxford, Oher was All-SEC three times. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Oher played five seasons with the Ravens, one at Tennessee and his final two years at Carolina.
Sean Tuohy said the family — including Oher — received an equal amount — $14,000 — from the 2009 film. This, of course, contradicts Oher’s claims. Indeed, the Tuohy family sold several franchises for $200 million, lending some credence to Whitlock’s claim.
According to family attorney Marty Singer, who gave a statement to Dailymail.com on Tuesday, Oher demanded $15 million from Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy before filing a petition to end the family’s conservatorship over him.
“They’re bringing out this whole exploitative conservatism nonsense, like it’s Britney Spears’s parents controlling all of her money. Michael, reporters, the world; the Tuohys have and always have had more money than Michael Oher. They also have more class, decency and compassion than Oher. Sean Tuohy says he still loves Michael Oher. He denies all this.
Their side makes perfect sense. This is the deal everyone should master. Michael Oher is as emotionally broken as the first day he slept like an oversized teenager on the Tuohys couch.”