Former NFL star Michael Oher is asking the general public to respect his privateness as he petitions a Tennessee courtroom to finish a conservatorship he claims allowed his former guardians tens of millions of his story to make.
“I am disheartened by the revelation shared today in the court case,” Oher stated People. com in an announcement. “This is a difficult situation for my family and me. I would like to ask everyone to respect our privacy at this time. For now I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and I will not comment further.’
Oher, the former NFL tackle known as the inspiration for the movie “The Blind Side,” filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate courtroom accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of mendacity to him by making him signal papers making them his conservators as a substitute of his adoptive mother and father virtually twenty years in the past.
In the petition filed Monday in Shelby County Probate Court, Oher is asking for the conservatory to be terminated, together with a request for a full accounting of the cash created from the usage of his identify and story. He additionally asks to be paid what he owes together with curiosity.
He accuses the Tuohys of enriching themselves at his expense by persevering with to “falsely and publicly” signify himself as his adoptive mother and father “until the date of the filing of this petition.”
Former NFL star Michael Oher is asking the general public to respect his privateness on the petition
Oher is seen with Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy after the NFC title match in January 2016
“Oher discovered this lie much to his chagrin and embarrassment in February 2023, when he learned that the conservatory he agreed to as it would make him a member of the Tuohy family did not, in fact, make him a familial relationship with the Tuohys,” the petition reads.
Oher, who has by no means been a fan of the film about his life, additionally asks within the petition that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required to pay each compensatory and punitive damages decided by the courtroom.
Steve Farese, a lawyer for the Tuohys, instructed The Associated Press they may file a solution to the fees in courtroom, however declined to remark additional. He was one among three attorneys served Monday on behalf of the Tuohys.
Leigh Anne Tuohy didn’t instantly reply to an e mail despatched via her private web site. Her husband instructed The Daily Memphian that the conservatorship was achieved to appease the NCAA, since Oher thought-about Tuohy’s alma mater Mississippi for school.
Sean Tuohy stated he and his spouse would end conservatory if Oher needed to.
“We’re devastated,” Tuohy stated. “It’s disturbing to think we’d be making money off one of our kids. But we’re going to love Michael when he was 37, just like we loved him when he was 16.”
The movie was nominated for an Oscar and Sandra Bullock gained the Academy Award for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Oher accuses the Tuohys of by no means taking authorized motion to take custody from the Tennessee Department of Human Services earlier than he turned 18. The conservatorship paperwork was filed months after Oher turned 18 in May 2004.
He moved in with the Tuohys simply earlier than his senior yr of highschool and says he was instructed to name them “Mom” and “Dad.” Oher says within the petition he was inspired to name the legal professional who filed the conservatorship papers “Aunt Debbie” Branan.
Oher additionally claims that nearly instantly after he moved in, the Tuohys made him signal the paperwork as a part of the adoption course of. Oher says he was “wrongly advised” that it might be known as a conservatory as a result of he was already 18, however the intention was adoption.
“At no point did the Tuohys inform Michael that they would have ultimate control over all of his contracts, and as a result, Michael did not understand that if the conservatory was awarded, he was giving up his right to contract for himself,” the petition reads. .
Oher (middle) filed a authorized petition Monday in opposition to Sean (left) and Leigh Anne Tuohy (proper)
In September 2006, a ebook about Oher’s life was launched. The creator, Michael Lewis, was described within the petition as a childhood good friend of Sean Tuohy. The petition claims that Oher’s conservators have entered movie rights contract negotiations.
The petition claims a deal has been reached to get the Tuohys, plus youngsters Sean Jr. and Collins, to pay $225,000 plus 2.5 % of future outlined internet proceeds, topic to Oher’s signature. A contract titled “Life Story Rights Agreement” was “supposedly signed by Michael Oher” and dated April 20, 2007, the petition stated.
The petition states that Oher believes the signature is just like his personal, however that he “never ever voluntarily or knowingly signed this document and that no one ever presented him with this contract with any explanation that he signed such a document.” ‘.
In the petition, Oher asks for a full accounting of his assets and how they were used, as his life story brought in millions of dollars and he received nothing for the rights to something that would not have existed without him.
Oher was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, and he spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He ended up playing eight NFL seasons, including 2014 when he started 11 games for the Tennessee Titans. Oher ended his career with two years in Carolina.
Oher claimed he was tricked into signing a document that made the Tuohy’s conservators — not his adoptive mother and father — then allowed them to benefit from him
He began 110 video games and gained a Super Bowl with the Ravens. He additionally completed second within the voting to Minnesota’s Percy Harvin for The Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after beginning all 16 video games in his first season with proper deal with.
Oher, who turned 37 in May, final performed in 2016. He was launched in 2017 by Carolina.
Nearly two years in the past, supporters cheered when Britney Spears was launched from her conservatory. The ruling got here after Spears publicly demanded the tip of the association, which since 2008 had prevented her from making her personal medical, monetary and private choices.
Spears’ high-profile struggle has solid a highlight on the efforts of advocates within the United States and raised the query that such strict controls do extra hurt than safety.