Michael Oher 37, the former NFL player who’s story became the inspiration behind the Oscar winning “The Blind Side” film, is suing the family that took him in after alleging he was tricked into a conservatorship.
According to an ESPN report, Oher filed a petition in Tennessee on Monday alleging that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy did not legally adopted him, but “tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.” Oher continued to state that at the time since he was physically healthy and mentally in the right state of mind there was no need for the Tuohy family to have the Conservatorship.
Oher’s story of being taken in by a wealthy white family who lifted him out of poverty was immortalized in the 2009 heart-warming sports drama inspired by the 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game” written by Michael Lewis. The story became a blockbuster hit at the box offices and is the highest grossing football sports drama of all time domestically.
Oher also alleged that he received little to nothing from “The Blind Side,” which grossed more than $309 million at the box office. He also alleges that the conservatorship enabled the Tuohy’s to sign deals that netted them and their two birth children millions of dollars, but excluded him from that income.
With the petition, Oher is seeking financial compensation, along with an end to the conservatorship and an end to the Tuohy family using his image, and name.
The Tuohy’s have reportedly denied the allegations made by Oher.
More about Oher and the lawsuit can be found here.
Falisha McGee is a Contributing Editor covering health and entertainment for BLK News Now! She is an activist and blogger who is passionate about the progress of Black Americans. She is also an avid supporter of Black women’s health and well-being. She can be reached at Falisha@BLKNewsNow.com.