Michael Oher was already an elite high school football player on his way to an NFL career before moving in with the wealthy Tuohy family in 2004, the 37-year-old retiree explained in an interview amid his ongoing legal battle with the family.
Oher has objected to his portrayal in the 2009 film The Blind Side, which chronicles his journey from a poor, destitute upbringing in Memphis to a successful college football career.
“I had the ability to want to succeed and be something, and it didn’t show the work ethic I put in to get to that point” Oher told Salon in a recent interview.
Those who saw the movie would be inclined to credit the Tuohy family for adopting Oher, helping improve his grades, and sending him to their alma mater, Ole Miss, where he developed into a first-round NFL champion. talent in offensive tackle.
But Oher has dismantled that story in recent weeks by claiming he was never adopted, but was instead tricked into agreeing to a conservatorship with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who allegedly profited from his name at his expense. , image and likeness.
Oher (center) recently revealed that he was never adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy
Oher now talks about his life in a new book, When Your Back’s Against the Wall.
“From the age of three until I was eighteen, the movie really started to portray my life,” Oher told Salon. ‘I had ambition, was very grateful for the platform. (The movie is) still inspiring and motivating people all over the world, so I’m thankful for that. But in the end I had to drive.’
And it’s this distinction that served as a motivating factor for Oher’s new book.
Rather than waiting for a wealthy savior to step in and help, Oher tries to motivate young readers to achieve their own success.
Oher earned $34.5 million in salary in the NFL
“I was 18 and I moved in with them a few weeks before my senior year of high school,” he said. “I had completed the journey I had already taken, a success in itself, coming from where I came from.
“So you have to give some credit there. That’s what I want young people to understand and not look at something and say, “I’m waiting for my savior, I’m waiting for this quick fix, I’m waiting for someone to come give me this alms.”
“That was never my mentality.”
But according to Tuohy family attorney Martin D. Singer, Oher was looking for a handout when he approached the Tuohys, allegedly demanding $15 million in movie winnings.
Oher recently petitioned Tennessee to end a conservatorship initiated by the wealthy Tuohy family in 2004 when he was one of the top teen soccer talents in the country. As a result of that conservatorship — which the family, book, and movie portrayed as a full adoption — Oher claims he was denied profits that ultimately went to the Tuohys and their two biological children.
Now, in his latest file, Oher is asking for nearly twenty years’ worth of financial information, which he believes was falsely withheld from him by the Tuohys.
The latest motion, filed in the Shelby County (Tennessee) Probate Court, was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Former Baltimore Ravens tack Michael Oher asks for 19 years worth of financial records
Monday’s filing is the latest chapter in Oher’s legal battle with the Tuohy family, who acted as his guardians in the early 2000s as he recruited recruiters from the nation’s top college football programs.
Oher claimed in the filing last week that he was denied profits from the film because of the 2004 conservatorship, which the family misleadingly portrayed as an adoption. He also requested a court order, prohibiting the family from using his name, likeness and likeness or continuing the false claim that he was their adopted son.
The former Ole Miss star is seeking his share of the winnings in the form of attorney fees, as well as damages and damages.
“Their department has been left in the dark, forced to rely on verbal assurances from its fellow curators,” Monday’s file read.
Oher claims he made several attempts to end the Conservatory, but the Tuohys “ignored” the requests.
In a statement, the Tuohy’s lawyers said the family is willing to end the conservatory but “wanted to defend their good name, oppose this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit.”
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are accused of enriching themselves by using Michael Oher
“In reality, the Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, providing him with structure, support, and most importantly, unconditional love,” said the statement from Tuohy family attorney Martin D. Singer. “They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children. His response was to threaten them, including saying that he would put a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million.”
The Tuohy’s lawyers have claimed that each member of the family, as well as Oher, all received $100,000 for the film.
However, Oher claims the family got $225,000 each, plus 2.5 percent of the movie’s profits.
“They insisted that all money received be divided equally. And they delivered on that promise.” The evidence – documented in profit-sharing checks and studio accounting statements – is clear: Over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal share of every penny he received from ‘The Blind Side’.