Sean Tuohy Calls Michael Oher's Allegations 'Insulting,' Says Family Is 'Devastated' by Lawsuit
Sean Tuohy is speaking out in the wake of Michael Oher's allegations against him and his family. Oher-- who was the subject of the 2009 Oscar-nominated film, The Blind Side -- filed a lawsuit on Monday, alleging that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tricked him into making them his conservators shortly after he turned 18 in 2004.
"We’re devastated," Sean told the Daily Memphian of the allegations. "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."
In the lawsuit, Oher claimed he only learned details of the conservatorship in February. He said the Tuohys allegedly told him there was no consequential difference between being adopted and entering into a conservatorship, giving them legal authority to make business deals in his name.
The former NFL star claimed that he was asked to sign papers under the belief that it was part of the "adoption process," but that they were actually conservatorship papers that would strip away his legal rights.
Sean told the local newspaper that he would "of course" end the conservatorship if that's what Oher wants.
"I want whatever Michael wants," he said, adding that the claims are "insulting" to their family and that they're "devastated" by the news.
After initially claiming they didn't make "any money" off the hit film starring Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne, Tim McGraw as Sean and Quinton Aaron as Oher, Sean said of The Blind Side, "Well, Michael Lewis (the author of the book The Blind Side) gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each."
He insisted, "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."
Sean, who owned a chain of fast food restaurants, reportedly sold his franchises for a total of $213 million.
"The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie," Sean maintained. "I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children."
Sean explained why the family entered into a conservatorship instead of a traditional adoption. He said it had to due with the NCAA's opinion when Oher was trying to get into Ole Miss, the Mississippi college where he later played football.
"Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn’t like that," Sean claimed. "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."
According to the Daily Memphian, it is legal to adopt adults over the age of 18 in Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Oher released a statement to The New York Post after the court filing, saying, "I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today. This is a difficult situation for my family and me. I want to ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time. For now, I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and will offer no further comment."
The 14-page petition filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court, alleges that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their biological children -- Collins Tuohy and Sean Tuohy Jr. -- millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side, which earned more than $330 million. The petition alleges that all four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 for the film plus 2.5% of the film's proceeds.
Oher claims that he "at no time willingly or knowingly" signed said contract, which gives away the "perpetual, unconditional, and exclusive" to his name, likeness, voice, appearance, personality, personal experiences, incidents, situations, and events taken from his life with no payment. The document has a signature that appears to be his, but the petition claims "nobody ever presented this document to him with any explanation."
The former NFL player says that in the years since, the Tuohys have continued calling Oher their adopted son and have used that assertion to promote their foundation, as well as Leigh Anne's work as an author and motivational speaker.
As for the conservatorship papers filed in 2004, those state that Leigh Anne and Sean, now both 63, "have all powers of attorney to act on his behalf" and that Oher "shall not be allowed to enter into any contracts or bind himself without the direct approval of his conservators."
The petition alleges that the Tuohys told Oher that because he was no longer a minor, the adoption paperwork was titled a conservatorship. "At no point did the Tuohys inform Michael that they would have ultimate control of all his contracts, and as a result Michael did not understand that if the Conservatorship was granted, he was signing away his right to contract for himself," the petition states.
The conservatorship was granted until Oher reached the age of 25 or until the court terminated the order, but the arrangement was never terminated, Oher's petition claims.
The petition asks that the court end the Tuohys' conservatorship and issue an injunction barring them from using his name and likeness. It also seeks a full accounting of the money that the Tuohys earned using Oher's name, and to have the couple pay him his fair share of profits, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The Tuohys did not immediately reply to ET's request for a statement or comment.
Sean Tuohy Jr., who goes by SJ, also addressed the situation in an interview with Barstool Sports.
"I knew it was coming. It was a matter of time," SJ said of the lawsuit. ".... I was surprised it happened the way it did, but no one was caught off guard."
The downfall of Michael's relationship with the Tuohys, SJ said, wasn't "one moment."
"I think when he stopped playing and everything kind of settled down," SJ said of when Michael left the NFL in 2016. "... I think it built up over time for him."
SJ also seemed skeptical of Oher's claims that he only learned about the ramifications of the conservatorship in the last six months.
"If he says he learned that in February, I find that hard to believe," SJ said. "There were things back in 2020, 2021, that were like, 'If you guys give me this much, then I won't go public with things.'"
When it comes to Michael's claim that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their biological children millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side, SJ denied that, claiming that he's made just "60 to $70,000 over the course of the last four or five years."
All of that money, SJ claimed, "is very well documented."
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