NFL Player Michael Oher, Portrayed in Oscar-Winning Film The Blind Side, Files Lawsuit Against Adoptive Family | US News
A former NFL player who inspired the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side has initiated a legal action regarding documents he signed almost 20 years ago.
Michael Oher, 37, filed a petition in a Tennessee court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of deceitfully representing themselves to him when he signed the papers designating them as his conservators, which he believed would also make them his adoptive parents.
He seeks to terminate the agreement and receive compensation based on the significant profits generated from his name and story.
Oher had an eight-season career in the NFL after being drafted in 2009, and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens.
Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side, a movie that depicted how the Tuohys took Oher in as a homeless teenager and helped him succeed.
The film was also nominated for Best Picture at the 2010 Oscars.
However, Oher has now alleged that the family profited by falsely portraying themselves as his adoptive parents.
The legal documents state that he only discovered in February that “the conservatorship he consented to, believing it would make him a member of the Tuohy family, did not establish any familial relationship”.
“The Tuohys never informed Michael that they would have complete control over all his contracts, resulting in Michael not understanding that by granting the conservatorship, he was relinquishing his right to negotiate contracts for himself,” the petition claims.
The filing asserts that the family entered into a movie deal for the rights to his story, receiving $225,000 plus 2.5% of future earnings.
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However, the documents state that although the signature on the 2007 contract resembles his own, he “never willingly or knowingly signed this document and… nobody ever presented this contract to him with any explanation that he was signing such a document”.
The Blind Side grossed over $300m (£236m) worldwide, according to the Internet Movie Database.
A lawyer for the Tuohys declined to comment but stated that they would be providing a response to the allegations to the court.
The issue of conservatorships – a legal arrangement where an adult assumes guardianship over someone unable to make decisions for themselves – gained attention two years ago when Britney Spears was released from one that had restricted her ability to make her own medical and financial decisions.
