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Update:
- A probate judge in Tennessee terminated a conservatorship between former NFL player Michael Oher and a couple from Memphis who took him in when he was in high school.
- Shelby County Probate Judge Kathleen N. Gomes says she was “disturbed” the agreement was ever in place and remarked it was the first time she had seen a conservatorship with a person who was not disabled, the AP reports.
- The decision comes after Oher filed a complaint against the couple, arguing they lied to him about being adopted and tricked him into signing a conservatorship.
- Oher seeks an injunction against the couple and their children from being able to profit off of his Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), in addition to an award of punitive and compensatory damages.
‘Blind Side’ Oher adoption lawsuit overview:
- Who: Retired NFL player Michael Oher has filed a petition to end a conservatorship he signed allegedly at the behest of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.
- Why: Oher claims he was tricked into signing the conservatorship by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy so they could enrich themselves by selling his life story.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in the Probate Court of Shelby County, Tennessee.
(Sept. 20, 2023)
Retired NFL player Michael Oher claims the Tennessee-area couple who took him into their home as a teenager lied about adopting him and, instead, tricked him into signing a conservatorship so they could enrich themselves.
Oher, whose story was the focus of the 2009 Oscar-nominated movie “The Blind Side,” claims in a petition filed Monday that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and their children have made millions of dollars off his life story, while he has received nothing.
Oher’s custody was awarded to the Tennessee Department of Human Services in 1996 when he was 10 years old, and he would remain a ward of the foster care system until becoming an adult, according to the petition.
The former offensive tackle argues Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy invited him to live with them when he was 18 years old, prior to his senior year in high school — where he excelled as an athlete — while telling him they intended to legally adopt him.
Oher argues he was tricked into signing what he thought were the equivalent of adoption papers
Oher claims he was tricked by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy into signing what he thought were the equivalent of adoption papers, but, in reality, were for a conservatorship giving the couple “ultimate control” over all of his contracts.
“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the petition states.
Oher argues Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy used the conservatorship to secure a contract for a book and subsequent film about his life story — called The Blind Side — which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2010 Academy Awards.
The film amassed gross revenues of more than $330 million and continues to bring in “large sums of money” to this day, according to Oher, who has asked for the conservatorship to be ended.
A number of other NFL-related lawsuits have been in the news this year, with cases revolving around claims of racial discrimination, streaming issues, antitrust violations, and benefit plan mismanagement.
What are your thoughts on Oher’s claims? Let us know in the comments!
Oher is represented by Anne Johnson of Butler Sevier Hinsley & Reid PLLC, J. Gerard Stranch IV of Stranch Jennings & Garvey PLLC, and John W. (“Don”) Barrett and Sterling Aldridge of Barrett Law Group PA.
The ‘Blind Side’ Oher adoption lawsuit is In re: Michael Jerome Williams Jr. A/K/A Michael Jerome Oher, Case No. C010333, in the Probate Court of Shelby County Tennessee.
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One thought on Judge ends ‘Blind Side’ NFL player Oher’s conservatorship
They are messed up for that. There was zero reason that conservatorship should have been granted to begin with, and I’m confused why it’s taken this long to get rid of it! I hope they get what they deserve.