NFL star Michael Oher who inspired movie The Blind Side breaks silence after filing lawsuit against ‘adoptive’ parents

FOOTBALL star Michael Oher has broken his silence for the first time since filing a lawsuit against his adoptive parents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.

The former football star revealed what life was like with the Tuohy’s.

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“The first time I heard ‘I love you,’ it was Sean and Leigh Anne [Tuohy] saying it,” Oher, 38, told The New York Times Magazine in an interview published Sunday.

“When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable.”

“You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you. It turns into a hurt feeling,” he added.

“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.”

The former Baltimore Ravens team member told the outlet that life with the Tuohys “was great.”

“I had a bed to stay on. I was eating good. They got me a truck,” he said.

However, Oher claims that the release of The Blind Side — which coincided with the start of his NFL career — thrust him into a very public and new spotlight.

According to Oher, he believed his new fame did not accurately reflect who he was as an athlete or person.

“That’s my heartbreak right there. … It was as soon as I got there, I was defined,” he told the outlet.

A rift between the Oher and the Tuohys began when the player called the narrative Sean and Leigh Ann were giving inaccurate.

“It’s hard to describe my reaction. It seemed kind of funny to me, to tell you the truth, like it was a comedy about someone else,” he told the magazine.

“It didn’t register.”

According to Oher, the most significant difference between the film and real life was the portrayal of Oher’s intelligence.

The depiction reportedly began to affect his career as well.

Who are the Touhy Family?

Below, find all the information on the people who took Michael Oher in made sure that he was able to play football

Sean Touhy was a successful student-athlete from New Orleans, Louisiana . Touhy was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds to play baseball but ended up playing basketball University of Mississippi.

Tuohy married Leigh Anne in 1982 and later had two children of their own, Sean Jr. and daughter Collins.

At one point, Tuohy and his wife owned a whopping 115 fast-food franchises.

In 2004, the Touhy’s welcomed Oher into the family and provided him with the tools he needed to succeed and become a professional football star.

According to Oher, “The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook.”

Oher also commented that comments on social media, which was still in its infancy, also impacted his life.

“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 said.

The inaccurate portrayal led to Oher speaking out against the Tuohys, claiming that instead of adopting him, they tricked him into signing a conservatorship, which they controlled.

The ex-Carolina Panthers star filed a petition in Tennessee in that he discovered the lie in ­February, to his “chagrin and embarrassment”.

At the time, Leigh Anne’s husband Sean was said to be “devastated” by the claims.

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