Michael Oher, the former football player whose life inspired The Blind Side , has spoken out publicly for the first time since filing a lawsuit against his adoptive parents, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, in an interview with The New York Times Magazine published on August 18.
Oher filed a lawsuit against the Tuohys in a Tennessee court on August 14, 2023, seeking to terminate the couple’s conservatorship over him and alleging that they exploited his name to make millions. In the suit, Oher alleged that Sean, Leigh Anne Tuohy, and their two biological children “collectively received millions of dollars” for their rights to The Blind Side book and its film adaptation while “Michael received nothing for his rights.”
During the new interview, Oher expressed that the situation is more nuanced than the court records indicate. He said his time living with the Tuohys was “great” at first. "I had a bed to stay on. I was eating good. They got me a truck,” he said. “The first time I heard ‘I love you,’ it was Sean and Leigh Anne saying it. When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable.”
Now, Oher wonders if the Tuohy’s generosity masked a darker intention. As he focused on his NFL career, the Tuohys worked to craft The Blind Side —first in the form of Michael Lewis’ 2006 book, and then its 2009 film adaptation. Oher felt his portrayal in both the book and the film was far from accurate, but he nevertheless went along with the Tuohy’s “narrative.”
"Pro football’s a hard job. You have to be locked in 100 percent,” he said. “I went along with their narrative because I really had to focus on my NFL career, not things off the field.”
But that proved disastrous for his NFL career, which began in earnest around the time of the film’s release. “That’s my heartbreak right there,” he admitted. “It was as soon as I got there, I was defined…The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook."
As he saw inaccurate reports proliferate on then-fledgling social media, Oher worried the film would define his career. “I started seeing stuff that I’m dumb. I’m stupid. Every article about me mentioned The Blind Side , like it was part of my name,” he recalled. “If my kids can’t do something in class, will their teacher think, ‘Their dad is dumb—is that why they’re not getting it?’” Oher wondered at the time.
Oher admitted that for a long time, he was “so angry mentally” with the Ohers for what he was “going through,” but now he wants to shed that anger and move on. "I want to be the person I was before The Blind Side , personality-wise,” he explained. “I’m still working on it.”
“You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you,” Oher said of his relationship with the Tuohys. “It turns into a hurt feeling…I don’t want to make this about race, but what I found out was that nobody says ‘I love you’ more than coaches and white people. When Black people say it, they mean it,” Oher added.
While he allegedly missed out on proceeds from The Blind Side , Oher clarified that he’s doing well financially and currently has “millions of dollars” in the bank. “I worked hard for that moment when I was done playing, and saved my money so I could enjoy the time,” he told the outlet.
The Tuohy’s conservatorship over Oher was established in 2004 and gave the family control over his finances and major life decisions despite the former tackle having no known disabilities, which is required under Tennessee law to grant a conservatorship over an adult. A judge terminated the conservatorship in September 2023. The Tuohys declined to comment for NYT Magazine ’s story.
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