Members of the Tuohy family are finally speaking on Michael Oher’s allegations that they did not adopt him and that they stole money from him.
Sean Tuohy, Oher’s “adoptive father,” said the family is devastated.
“We’re devastated,” Tuohy told the Daily Memphian. “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.”
Oher thought that the Tuohys had adopted him. Instead, he says he signed a conservatorship in which they would be in control of his money and businesses, an allegation that Tuohy denies.
One of the major allegations made by Oher is how much money the Tuohy family made off the movie “The Blind Side.” He says the family received millions from the movie.
“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,”he said. “The last thing I needed was 40 grand from a movie. I will say it’s upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children.”
Tuohy claims that the conservatorship was a way to keep the NCAA off their backs as well as Oher’s.
“They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family,” he said. “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.”
Tuohy went on to say that he realizes there is not much he can say or do to convince people of their innocence and says Oher’s allegations are insulting.
“No question, the allegations are insulting, but, look, it’s a crazy world. You’ve got to live in it. It’s obviously upset everybody,” he said.
Tuohy also said they would do anything Oher wanted them to do including ending the conservatorship.
