The family whose decision to take Michael Oher in when he was in high school and became the basis for a book and film adaptation claimed in recent court filings that the ex-NFL player threatened to “defame them on social media and/or TMZ as ‘fakes’ or ‘thieves’ if his money demands weren’t met.”
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy made the allegations in court documents filed Tuesday in Shelby County, Tennessee, Probate Court amid the ongoing battle with Oher as the Super Bowl champion claimed he did not receive his fair share of the royalties from the film “The Blind Side,” which was adapted from the Michael Lewis book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.”
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Michael Oher, #74 of the Ole Miss Rebels, stands with his family during senior ceremonies prior to a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Nov. 28, 2008 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images)
According to the court documents, Oher became more estranged from the Tuohys, “believing incorrectly that they had not paid him the money he was owed” following his retirement from the NFL. Oher allegedly made demands for money on two separate occasions – first for $10 million and then raising his demand to $15 million. Oher allegedly told the family he was telling the world he was robbed “by his parents.”
“If something isn’t resolved this Friday, I’m going to go ahead and tell the world, how I was robbed by my suppose to be [sic] parents. That’s the deadline,” Oher allegedly wrote in on text. “… Think how it will look when this comes out.”
Former NFL football player Michael Oher, right, stands with his lawyers outside a courtroom, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
Oher claimed he was robbed of more than $50 million and then later lowered the number to $10 million, according to the documents. When the Tuohys refused to meet the demand, Oher raised the number back to $15 million, documents say.
Lawyers say in the documents that a Nov. 8 legal filing showed that Oher and the Tuohys were paid the same amount — $138,311.
A representative for Oher did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy stand on a street in New Orleans, Feb. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Oher alleged in a petition in August that he discovered in February he was never legally adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and was tricked into entering a conservatorship after his 18th birthday.
In September, a judge ended the conservatorship, but the legal fight continued over the money. Lawyer Randy Fishman, who represents the Tuohys, said last month that references to Oher being their adopted son will be removed from the couple’s websites and public speaking materials.
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Oher was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, where he would play five seasons and win one Super Bowl. After a brief stint with the Tennessee Titans, he signed with the Carolina Panthers, but was eventually released in 2017.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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