Michael Oher acknowledged in his 2011 memoir that the Tuohy family were his “legal conservators,” despite now accusing the family of lying to him by making him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents.
Oher, 37, whose story from homelessness to the NFL inspired the blockbuster “The Blind Side,” wrote in his 2011 autobiography that he was aware of the legal relationship he had with the family.
In the 2011 memoir “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond,” Oher wrote, “Sean and Leigh Anne would be referred to as my ‘legal conservators.’
The former football star, who won the 2013 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, now accuses the Tuohys of cheating him by making him sign papers and falsely posing as his adoptive parents.
He claims that in February 2023 he discovered that the Conservatory was not the arrangement he thought it was – and that it did not give him a familial relationship with the Tuohys.
Michael Oher (left), whose story from homelessness to the NFL inspired the blockbuster “The Blind Side,” is pictured with Leigh Anne Tuohys
Michael Oher is depicted with the Tuohy family. He has now accused the family of lying to him by making him sign papers making them his conservators instead of his adoptive parents
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are pictured with Michael Oher after he won the 2013 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens
But despite his recent allegations, Oher previously wrote about his conservatorship in 2011.
“There was one major event right after I graduated high school: I became a legal member of the Tuohy family,” Oher wrote in the memoir.
“It felt a bit like a formality as I had been part of the family for over a year at that point. Since I was already over eighteen and considered an adult by the state of Tennessee, Sean and Leigh Anne would be referred to as my “legal conservators.”
“They explained to me that it means something like ‘adoptive parents,’ but that the laws were written to take my age into account.
“To be honest, I didn’t care what it was called. I was just glad no one could argue that we weren’t legally what we already knew was real: we were a family.”
The former football star even wrote how the Tuohys took his birth mother to court where she gave her consent to the deal.
“My mom was supposed to be at the hearing to admit she supported the decision to list the Tuohys as my next of kin and trustees.
“My mom was supportive of the whole thing and there wasn’t a lot of emotion everywhere because it was just a matter of formalizing the way we’d been living for the past year.”
“After court, we all went to brunch together to celebrate. Then we dropped my mother off and went back to the house – to our house.’
Oher was approached for comment but did not immediately respond.
In the 2011 memoir “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond,” Oher wrote, “Sean and Leigh Anne would be referred to as my ‘legal conservators.’
Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock are depicted in The Blind Side, a movie about the life of Michael Oher
Michael Oher, then playing for the Ole Miss Rebels, stands with the Tuohys during senior ceremonies prior to a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on November 28, 2008
Oher’s biggest complaint about the Tuohys revolves around his claims that the family made millions from his name and from the blockbuster “The Blind Side.” He said he had not received anything for the film.
After filing a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court, Oher wants a full accounting of assets, as his life story netted millions of dollars.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s lawyers said the couple now want to end the conservatory trial Oher is challenging in court.
The two plan to enter into a consent order to end the conservatory, despite the fact that the Tuohys’ lawyers said Oher was well aware that he was not adopted.
Their attorney Randall Fishman also pointed to Oher’s first book and that he mentioned three times that the Tuohys were conservators for him. The couple’s lawyers also said the Tuohys and Oher have been estranged for about a decade.
Steve Farese, also their lawyer, said Oher has become “more and more vocal and menacing” over the past decade, and that this is “devastating for the family.”
The Tuohys have called the charges a ridiculous attempt at shakedown, and “a court is not a place to play,” Fishman said.
In a statement released Tuesday by their lawyers, the Tuohys said Oher had threatened in court to publish a negative news report about them unless they paid him $15 million.
The conservatorship paperwork was filed months after Oher turned 18 in May 2004.
Oher is pictured with the Tuohy family. After filing a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court, Oher now wants a full accounting of assets as his life story netted millions of dollars
Leigh Anne Tuohy hugs Michael Oher after winning the Super Bowl in 2013. Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s lawyers said the couple now want to end the conservatory trial Oher is challenging in court
Michael Oher (center) and teammate Mike Tolbert laugh during a 33-14 win against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 26, 2015 in Arlington, Texas
Oher accuses the Tuohys of never taking legal action to take custody from the Tennessee Department of Human Services before he turned 18, even though he was told to call them Mom and Dad.
Oher claims that almost immediately after he moved in, the Tuohys had him sign the paperwork as part of the adoption process.
Oher says he was “wrongly advised” that it would be called a conservatory because he was already 18, but that adoption was the intention.
The couple didn’t just adopt Oher, Mr. Fishman said, because the conservatory was the quickest way to address the NCAA’s concerns that the Tuohys weren’t just sending a talented athlete to Mississippi, their alma mater that Oher later attended.
Oher, who has never been a fan of the movie about his life, asks that the Tuohys be sanctioned and ordered to pay damages by the probate court. He asks to be paid what is due to him along with interest.