Tuohy family has an opinion on Michael Oher’s alleged false adoption

The Tuohy Family is Talking Out Now: Michael O’Raheevy’s The Blind Side Revisited

The Tuohy family profited from Michael Oher’s name, image and likeness, as he was the subject of The Blind Side. The Tuohy family is speaking out now.

The former NFL offensive lineman petitioned the court in Tennessee to have the established conservatorship dissolved.

Tuohy said if Oher wants to end the conservatorship now, he would “of course” be willing to end it. He also told The Daily Memphian that he began to sense a growing distance between Oher and the Tuohys starting a year and a half ago.

The sports commentator told The Daily Memphian he got the news from a friend, who first reported the story.

The conservatorship at the center of the petition filed Monday, Tuohy said, had nothing to do with the movie, telling The Daily Memphian it was a way to satisfy the NCAA when it appeared Oher might play football at the University of Mississippi.

Tuohy told Michael that if he wanted to go to Ole Miss or even consider it, he needed to be a part of the family. This would be permissible, legally.

“We’re devastated. Tuohy said it was upsetting that they would make money off of any of their children. We will love Michael at 37 just as much as we loved him at 16.

“What he signed, however, and unknown to Michael until after February of 2023, were not adoption papers, or the equivalent of adoption papers,” the petition alleged.

NPR’s multiple requests for comment from both Leigh Anne Tuohy and the Tuohy family’s nonprofit organization, Making It Happen, were not immediately returned.

Oher’s Remarks on the Tuohy Family: When Your Back’s Against the Wall – an interview with Michael Oher

“This is a difficult situation for my family and me. I want everyone to respect our privacy at the moment. Oher said that he would let the lawsuit speak for itself, and give no further comment.

The Tuohy’s are denying claims made against them of making millions from Michael Oher’s name, image and likeness.

“The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone – let alone from someone they loved as a son – defies belief,” Singer said in his statement.

The Tuohys want Oher to regret his recent decisions and hope that they can reconcile with him, the family’s attorney said.

“In the meantime, however, [the Tuohys] will not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit,” Singer said.

Oher, who spoke with Mississippi Public Broadcasting Monday about his new book — When Your Back’s Against the Wall — did not address the petition in his interview. However, he did briefly speak positively about the Tuohys.

“The things I went through and had to do to go through to that point I went through from 3 years old to 18 when I moved in with the Tuohy family — who I’m grateful for letting me stay my senior year there. But you have to understand … what it took for me to get to that point,” Oher told MPB.