Michael Oher Speaks Out for the First Time Since Filing Lawsuit Against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy

Michael Oher, a former football star whose life inspired him The blind sideis speaking out for the first time since filing a lawsuit against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy that resulted in the termination of his supervision and allegations that the family used his likeness to make millions.

In a new interview with The New York Times Magazine released Sunday, Aug. 18, more than a year after he first filed the lawsuit, the NFL alum recalled his time living with a wealthy Memphis family — and why, despite what the 2009 movie portrays, he feels like that he was deceived.

“The first time I heard ‘I love you’, it was Sean and Leigh Anne [Tuohy] saying that. When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable,” he told the magazine. “You let your guard down and then everything is taken away from you. It turns into a hurt feeling.”

After a short pause, he continued, “I don’t want to make this about race, but what I’ve found is that no one says ‘I love you’ more than coaches and white people. When black people say it, they mean it.”

Michael Oher in 2016.

Scott Cunningham/Getty

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Oher, now 38, continued to express fond feelings about the comfort and care provided to him by Sean and Leigh Ann. “Honestly, it was great,” he said of the time he spent with his family, who bought him clothes and tutored him — so he could qualify to play college football — among other things.

“I had to stay in bed. I ate well. They bought me a truck,” he added of his time with Sean, Leigh Anne and their two children.

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However, The blind sideOher said, it gave him a whole new — and very public — identity that didn’t accurately reflect who he was as an athlete or a person.

While he focused on football, Sean and Leigh Ann helped make the film, which began as a book by Michael Lewis, using their “story,” Oher said, also noting that his portrayal turned out to be inaccurate.

Thinking about the release The blind sidewhich coincided with the start of his NFL career, Oher said The New York Times Magazine“That’s where my broken heart is. … As soon as I got there, I was defined.”

The Tuohy family with Michael Oher (centre).

Leigh Anne Tuohy/ Instagram

Oher did not attend the film’s premiere, but was persuaded to see it about a month after its release. “It is difficult to describe my reaction. It seemed kind of funny, to tell you the truth, like it was a comedy about someone else,” he told the magazine. “Not registered.”

The biggest difference between the movie character and the real-life Oher, according to the athlete? This underestimated his intelligence to the point that his new co-workers questioned his abilities. “NFL people were wondering if I could read the playbook,” he said.

Recalling how social media was “just starting to take off” at the time of the film’s release, Oher added, “I started seeing things that I was stupid. i’m stupid Every article about me mentioned ‘The Blind Side’, like it was part of my name.”

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The ex-footballer still worries that this display will affect him – as well as his children: “If my kids can’t do something in class, will their teacher think, ‘Their dad is stupid – is that why they they don’t understand that?’ ” he said.

The Tuohy family at the premiere of ‘The Blind Side’ in 2009.

Stephen Lovekin/Getty

Elsewhere in his conversation with The New York Times Magazine — which the Tuohy family declined to comment on — Oher also argued that his lawsuit against them is not about money, though he said in an Aug. 14 filing that Sean, Leigh Anne and their two children “collectively received millions of dollars, and Michael nothing for his rights” on The blind side.

“I’ve been working hard for the moment when I’m done with the game and I’ve been saving my money so I can enjoy my time,” he told the magazine, adding that he’s “good” and currently has “millions of dollars.”

As for why he waited until last August to file, Oher said he had other things on his mind. “Professional football is hard work. You have to be committed 100 percent,” he explained. “I went along with their story because I really had to focus on my NFL career and not things off the field.”

Michael Oher cheerfully greets fans at a book signing in Florida amid a new lawsuit against the Tuohy family

Oher has long said he was also “mentally angry” about the situation he was “going through,” he told the magazine. Now he just wants to find himself again.

“I want to be the person I was before The blind sidepersonality,” he said. “I’m still working on it.”

Michael Oher in 2023.

Shutterstock

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A month after the retired NFL star filed suit in Shelby County, Tenn., Probate Court last August, Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes dissolved the conservatorship Sean and Leigh Anne established when Oher turned 18.

Established in 2004, the guardianship gave the Tuohy family control over Oher’s money and major life decisions, despite the fact that he had no known disabilities, as required by Tennessee state law.

Gomes said at the time that she had never seen a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who was not disabled in her 43-year career.

The rest of the litigation, meanwhile, is still ongoing.

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Source: HIS Education