Tuohy family denies allegations made by ex-NFL lineman Michael Oher in legal response to dispute surrounding adoption and money earned from ‘The Blind Side’

A Memphis couple who took in former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher when he was in high school denied in court papers Thursday that they used a legal agreement between them to get rich at his expense and lied about the intention to adopt him.

Attorneys for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy filed a response to Oher’s Aug. 14 request for a judge to end a conservatorship signed in 2004 when Oher was an 18-year-old high school football player in Memphis and a prized college recruit .

Oher had a troubled childhood and moved in with the Tuohy family, in a story that was the subject of the film “The Blind Side,” which won Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.

Oher, 37, filed his petition in court, accusing the Tuohys of lying to him nearly two decades ago by making him sign papers making them his conservators instead of his adoptive parents.

The former NFL lineman wants the conservatorship ended, a full accounting of the money he has made from his name and story and he be paid what he is owed, with interest.

Oher, a Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens and eight-year NFL veteran, let his story inspire the book “The Blind Side” – which became a critically acclaimed film

He accused the couple of falsely representing themselves as his adoptive parents. He said he discovered in February that the conservatorship he had agreed to in 2004 was not the arrangement he thought it was — and that it gave him no family ties to them.

He claims the Tuohys kept him in the dark about financial transactions involving his name, image and likeness throughout the 19-year term of the agreement.

The Tuohys have called the claims that they have enriched themselves at his expense bizarre, hurtful and absurd and part of a ‘shakedown’ of Oher.

Attorneys representing the couple also said the Tuohys would sign a consent order to end the conservatorship.

In Tennessee, a conservatorship takes away a person’s power to make decisions for themselves, and is often used in the case of a medical condition or disability.

But Oher’s conservatorship was approved “despite the fact that he was over 18 years of age and had no diagnosed physical or psychological disabilities,” according to his petition.

In their response, the wealthy couple reiterated their willingness to end the conservatorship.

They said they loved Oher like a son and provided him with food, shelter, clothing and cars while he lived with them, but denied they planned to legally adopt him.

The Tuohys call Oher’s claims bizarre, hurtful and absurd and part of a ‘shakedown’

Oher played for the Baltimore Ravens, the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers

The Tuoys’ filing stated that Oher called them “Mom” and “Dad,” and occasionally they called Oher a son.

They acknowledged that websites show themselves referring to Oher as an adopted son, but the term was only used “in the colloquial sense and it was never intended that that reference would be construed with legal implications.”

“They vehemently deny that they viewed petitioner as a gullible young man whose athletic talent could be exploited for their own benefit,” the Tuohys’ filing said.

The Tuohys said their conservatorship was the tool chosen to comply with NCAA rules that would have prevented Oher from attending the University of Mississippi, where Sean Tuohy had been a standout basketball player.

“When it became clear that petitioner could not consider attending the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) because he lived with respondents, the NCAA made it clear that he could attend Ole Miss if he was part of the Tuohy family at one way or another,” the filing said.

The Tuohys also said Oher lied when he found out he wasn’t adopted in February. They said Oher’s 2011 book “I Beat the Odds” indicates he was fully aware the Tuohys had been appointed conservators.

Agents negotiated a small advance for the Tuohys from the production company for “The Blind Side,” based on a book written by Sean Tuohy’s friend Michael Lewis, the couple’s lawyers say. That included “a small percentage of net profits,” divided equally among a group that included Oher, they said.

Randy Fishman (L) and Steve Farese Sr. (R) are two members of Tuohy’s legal team

The attorneys said they estimate that each of the Tuohys and Oher received $100,000 each, and that the couple paid taxes on Oher’s share for him.

The Tuohys’ filing stated that they had never signed Oher to a professional football contract, and he was happy with their financial arrangements from ‘The Blind Side’.

Oher was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, and he spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl.

He played 110 games over eight NFL seasons, including 2014 when he started 11 games for the Tennessee Titans. Oher finished his career in Carolina.