The Tuohy family doesn’t like Michael Oher’s petition and thinks it’s an attempt at a shakedown
The Tuohy Family Indicts an NFL Offensive Lineman: A Letter of Intention for a Dissolution of the Conservatory
The family says that Oher’s claims against them in the petition filed in a Tennessee court Monday are essentially a “shakedown effort” in order to get nearly $15 million from them. Oher said that the Tuohy family set a conservatorship instead of legally adopting him in the movie The Blind Side.
The 37-year-old former NFL offensive lineman filed a petition Monday asking the Shelby County, Tenn., probate court for the established conservatorship to be dissolved.
The filing claims Oher wanted the Tuohys to be his legal guardian until he was 25 years old.
The Daily Memphian had an interview with the sports commentator, who said he first heard about the lawsuit from a friend.
Tuohy told The Daily Memphian that the petition was a way to satisfy the NCAA when it was thought that Oher might play football at the University of Mississippi.
“Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn’t like that,” Tuohy said. If he was part of the family they said the only way Michael would be able to come to Ole Miss.
“We’re devastated. It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children,” Tuohy said. We will love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16.
“What he signed, however, and unknown to Michael until after February of 2023, were not adoption papers, or the equivalent of adoption papers,” the petition alleged.
The Tuohy family’s nonprofit organization, Making It Happen, did not return multiple NPR requests for comment.
Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy: When Your Back’s Against the Wall – Will It Be Reconsidered? A statement from Michael Oher
Attorneys representing Oher did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment. Don Barrett, one of Oher’s attorneys, told ESPN in a statement that they believe justice will be served in court.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy were accused of earning millions of dollars and using the likeness of Michael Oher, a former offensive lineman in the National Football League.
“The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone – let alone from someone they loved as a son – defies belief,” Singer said in his statement.
The Tuohys hope that Oher will come to regret his decisions, and that they can reconcile with him, according to their attorney.
The Tuohys would not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat the lawsuit.
Oher, who spoke with Mississippi Public Broadcasting Monday about his new book — When Your Back’s Against the Wall — did not address the petition in his interview. He spoke positively about the Tuohys.
When I was 3 years old I moved in with the Tuohy Family and they allowed me to stay my senior year there. Oher told MPB that it took him to get to that point.
Former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher has sued Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy for more than $15 million (over 100 crore). Oher said he wanted the Tuohy family to be his legal guardian until he was 25 years old. The Tuohy family said that the petition was a way to satisfy the NCAA when Oher might play football at the University of Mississippi.