'Blind Side' Family Makes Concession to Michael Oher Amid Legal Battle
The Memphis couple who took in former NFL player Michael Oher when he was in high school have made a concession to Oher in their legal battle over his finances.
Lawyer Randy Fishman told a Memphis judge on Wednesday that mentions of Oher being adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy will be removed from public speaking materials and the couple’s websites immediately.
References to Oher being adopted had been a key argument by Oher in his efforts to force the Tuohys to account for money made from the 2009 film “The Blind Side,” which focuses on Oher’s story and his relationship with the Tuohys.
Oher said in a court filing in August that the Tuohys misled him into thinking they adopted him when they entered into a conservatorship agreement with Oher in 2004, when he was 18.
In September, Shelby County Probate Judge Kathleen Gomes ended the conservatorship, which allowed the Tuohys to control Oher’s finances. Oher, who had a troubled childhood, signed the agreement when he was living with the couple as he was being recruited by colleges as a star high school football player.
Despite the termination of the conservatorship, the legal fight over money made from the film and Oher’s story continues.
Oher claims the Tuohys have used his name, image and likeness to enrich themselves and kept him in the dark about financial dealings related to him. Oher had previously asked that the judge bar the Tuohys from using his name, image and likeness to make money.
Oher attended the Wednesday probate court hearing where Fishman told the judge that the Tuohys would remove the adoption references. Oher did not speak during the hearing.
The Tuohys, who were already millionaires by the time they took Oher in, have called the claims they enriched themselves at his expense outlandish, hurtful and absurd and part of a “shakedown” by Oher.
In a court filing, the couple said they loved Oher like a son and provided him with food, shelter, clothing and cars while he lived with them, but denied saying they intended to legally adopt him.
The Tuohys’ filing said Oher called them “mom and dad,” and they occasionally referred to him as a son. They acknowledged that websites show them referring to Oher as an adopted son, but the term was only used “in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication.”
In a separate court filing, the Tuohys said they received payments from the film’s proceeds from 20th Century Fox and gave Oher one-third of the money, which came out to $138,311.
Oher has challenged that filing, arguing that it does not account for millions generated by public speaking events and alleging Sean Tuohy kept $2.5 million given to him by Oher to invest for him.
A trial date has not been set in the case.
Oher was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi. He spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl. He played in 110 games over eight NFL seasons and finished his career with the Carolina Panthers.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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