‘Blind Side’ Subject Michael Oher Accuses Parents of Never Adopting Him

Former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher, the subject of the 2009 movie The Blind Side, is accusing his adoptive parents of not adopting him. According to ESPN, Oher petitioned a Tennessee court on Monday with allegations that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who Oher took into their home as a high school student, never officially adopted him. Instead, less than three months after Oher turned 18 in 2004, the petition says the couple tricked him into signing a document that made them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name. 

Oher, 37, also alleges that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to strike a deal that paid them and their two birth children millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side, a movie that earned over $300 million at the box office worldwide. Oher says he earned no money from his story. 

“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the legal filing says. “Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.”  

Oher is asking the Shelby County, Tennessee probate court to end the conservatorship and to issue an injunction barring them from using his name, image and likeness. The petition also seeks a full accounting of the month the Tuohys earned using his name, and to have the couple pay him his fair share of profits. 

“Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control,” the petition says. “All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher.”

Oher was one of 12 children born to his mother who struggled with drug addiction. He was placed into foster care before his 11th birthday and bounced around multiple homes and lived on the streets. Oher found stability when he enrolled in a private Christian school in Memphis and began playing football in the 11th grade. During that time, Oher would stay at the homes of his classmates, including the Tuohys who asked him to move in as he gained more popularity with his play in the field, according to the petition. 

Oher went on to play college football at Ole Miss, where he was a two-time All-American. He then was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and helped the team win a Super Bowl in 2012. Oher also played for the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers before ending his NFL career before the 2017 season. 

Not only was The Blind Side a box office success, but it was loved by critics as well. The movie earned four Academy Award nominations, and Sandra Bullock, who played Leigh Anne Tuohy, won an Academy Award for her role. The Blind Side is based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game written by Michael Lewis.