Blind Side’ Subject Says Family Lied About His Adoption and Made Millions Off Him
Former NFL player Michael Oher says Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never actually adopted him and instead enriched themselves through a conservatorship
By Andrew Beaton
Updated Aug. 14, 2023 3:33 pm ET
Michael Oher, the retired football player whose upbringing was chronicled in the book and movie “The Blind Side,” has filed a petition with a Tennessee court that alleges he was never adopted by the family that took him in and then they profited from his story.
Oher’s petition alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who he moved in with as a teenager when he was a rising football star, had him sign papers for a conservatorship, which he says they used to make millions off his name and likeness.
The filing in a probate court Shelby County, Tenn., says the Tuohys “have enriched themselves at the expense” of Oher and that he only “discovered this lie” earlier this year. It says Oher was duped into the conservatorship, which has cost him the windfalls of his well-known life story.
A representative of the Tuohy family didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oher became a household name before he made the NFL, owing to the 2006 book that chronicled the evolving importance of his position—left tackle—and his unusual upbringing. After growing up in poverty and the foster care system, Oher sometimes stayed at the houses of other classmates, which included the Tuohys.
In 2004, when Oher was a legal adult and had moved in with the family, the petition says he was presented with legal papers that they told him were a necessary step in the adoption process. Instead, he alleges, they were documents for a conservatorship that gave the Tuohys full control over his ability to enter any contract.
Oher’s petition says the Tuohys have falsely and publicly represented themselves as his adopted parents—Leigh Anne’ Tuohy’s website refers to him as their “adopted son”—and enriched themselves off his story. Specifically, it says they used their status as his conservators to strike an agreement that allowed members of the Tuohy family to receive royalties and profit off the 2009 movie “The Blind Side.” The film, which netted Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne, made over $300 million worldwide.
The lawsuit seeks an end to the conservatorship and to recoup money that the Tuohys have reaped based on the arrangement.
The book and movie cast a bright spotlight on Oher’s career. He went on to play at Ole Miss, the Tuohys’ alma mater, and became an All-American before being selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. Oher, now 37 years old, last played in the league in 2016.
Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com
