'The Blind Side' Family: Oher's Lawsuit 'Insulting'

Sean Tuohy has responded to former NFL player Michael Oher's legal petition, which claims that the Tuohy family did not officially adopt him but instead convinced him to make them his conservators before going on to make millions from his misrepresented life story in "The Blind Side" movie.

"We're devastated," Tuohy told the Daily Memphian. "It's upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children. But we're going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16."

Oher, who was the inspiration for the 2009 Oscar-winning film, submitted a petition on Monday to end the conservatorship. He claims that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, portrayed in the movie by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, did not complete a legal adoption of him.

According to the legal document submitted on Aug. 14 to the Shelby County Probate Court and obtained by People, Oher claims that he unknowingly granted authority to the couple to become his conservators in 2004, when he was 18-years old.

"Michael trusted the Tuohys and signed where they told him to sign," the legal filing states, according to People. "What he signed, however, and unknown to Michael until after February, 2023, were not adoption papers, or the equivalent of adoption papers."

According to the petition, Oher claims that all four members of the Tuohy family — Sean, Leigh Anne, and their two children — received a direct payment of $250,000 each from the film, along with a 2.5% share in ongoing residuals.

Sean Tuohy disputed those claims.

"We were never offered money; we never asked for money. My money is well-documented; you can look up how much I sold my company for," the 63-year-old, who worked as a sports commentator while also owning a series of fast food franchises, said.

"The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie," he added. "I will say it's upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children."

Sean Tuohy emphasized that the conservatorship, which led to the recent petition, had no connection to the movie. Instead, it was a measure taken to address concerns from the NCAA, the nonprofit governing body for student athletics.

This step was taken when it seemed likely that Oher would join the football team at the University of Mississippi.

Having been an All-American point guard at the university, known as "Ole Miss," Sean Tuohy was also a dedicated advocate of the school. As a result, he would fall under the classification of a "booster," according to NCAA regulations.

"Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn't like that," Sean Tuohy told the Daily Memphian. "They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family. I sat Michael down and told him, 'If you're planning to go to Ole Miss — or even considering Ole Miss — we think you have to be part of the family. This would do that, legally.' We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn't adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship. We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court."

Sean Tuohy noted that his family had maintained a close relationship with Oher after the movie's release in 2009. However, he started noticing a certain level of distance beginning around a year and a half ago.

"It's upsetting, but it's life, what are you going to do? Certain people will believe us and certain people won't. No question, the allegations are insulting, but, look, it's a crazy world. You've got to live in it. It's obviously upset everybody," he said. "It's hard because you have to defend yourself, but whatever he wants, we'll do. We're not in this for anything other than whatever he wants. If he'd have said, 'I don't want to be part of the family anymore,' we'd have been very upset, but we absolutely would have done it."

Sean Tuohy added that he wants "whatever Michael wants" when asked whether the Tuohys would be willing to end their conservatorship of 37-year-old Oher.