Former NFL Star Michael Oher Alleges Deception by Adoptive Couple in Court Filing

Former NFL star Michael Oher has filed a petition in a Tennessee court, alleging that the couple who took him in as a teenager under false pretenses and placed him in a conservatorship have enriched themselves at his expense. Oher claims that the couple misled him into believing they were adopting him, while they actually obtained the rights to his name, likeness, and life story without compensating him. The petition also accuses the couple of breaching their fiduciary duty as conservators. Oher is seeking to terminate the conservatorship and obtain an injunction against the couple using his name and likeness. Doha Madani,Diana Dasrath reported

Michael Oher, the former NFL star and central figure of the book and movie “The Blind Side,” has alleged in a recent court filing that the couple who took him in as a teenager, Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy, deceived him by leading him to believe that they were adopting him. However, they instead placed him under a conservatorship. Oher’s petition to terminate the conservatorship, filed in Shelby County Court in Tennessee, claims that the Tuohys have unjustly enriched themselves at his expense.

The story of Oher and the Tuohy family gained widespread attention through the Oscar-winning film “The Blind Side,” in which Sandra Bullock portrayed Leigh Anne Tuohy. The film, based on the book by Michael Lewis, portrayed Oher’s journey from being a homeless child to becoming a successful college football player and eventually an NFL star.

According to the petition, the Tuohys struck a deal with 20th Century Fox that left Oher without any compensation for the rights to his name, likeness, and life story, while the Tuohy family received a contract price of $225,000 and 2.5% of the film’s net proceeds. The film’s total earnings exceeded $300 million. Additionally, Leigh Anne Tuohy’s charitable foundation received a $200,000 donation.

Oher claims that he did not receive any financial benefit from the film, as it was released after he had finished his college career and it would not have affected his eligibility to play in the NCAA. The petition argues that Oher does not recall signing the agreement regarding the rights to his life story and that nobody had explained the document to him.

Oher’s petition accuses the Tuohys of breaching their fiduciary duty as conservators in a manner that is so egregious and appalling that they should face sanctions from the court.

The filing states that Oher became a ward of the state of Tennessee at the age of 11 and experienced homelessness during his childhood. In 2002, a friend’s father helped him enroll in Briarcrest Christian School, where he played basketball and football. During this time, the families of Oher’s classmates provided him with temporary housing, recognizing his need for support within a flawed social system.

While other parents saw Oher as a vulnerable young man in need, the petition alleges that the Tuohys saw an opportunity to exploit his athletic talent for their own gain. The petition claims that during the summer before Oher’s senior year, the Tuohys offered him a place to live and promised to legally adopt him, which Oher believed.

It was only in February that Oher discovered that the documents he had been asked to sign by the Tuohys, under the guise of the “adoption process,” were actually conservatorship papers that would strip him of his legal rights. The Tuohys allegedly explained to Oher that because he had reached adulthood, the adoption paperwork was titled as a conservatorship.

The petition argues that the Tuohys never informed Oher that they would have ultimate control over his contracts, and as a result, Oher did not realize that by granting the conservatorship, he was relinquishing his right to negotiate contracts for himself. Although the conservatorship was initially granted until Oher turned 25 or until the court terminated it, the arrangement was never terminated, according to Oher’s petition.

In addition to seeking termination of the conservatorship, Oher’s petition requests that the court issue an injunction preventing the Tuohys from using his name and likeness. NBC News attempted to contact Sean Tuohy, but there was no immediate response. The attorney who handled the original conservatorship case in 2004 on behalf of the Tuohys stated that he had not yet spoken to the couple about Oher’s recent filing.

It is worth noting that the Creative Artists Agency, which previously represented the Tuohys, confirmed that they have not been working with the family since 2007..