Michael Oher is speaking out on his lawsuit against the Tuohy family, the family who took him in as a teenager, as depicted in the 2009 film "The Blind Side."
"The first time I heard 'I love you,' it was Sean and Leigh Anne saying it," Oher told The New York Times Magazine. "When that happens at 18, you become vulnerable. You let your guard down and then you get everything stripped from you. It turns into a hurt feeling."
"I don't want to make this about race, but what I found out was that nobody says 'I love you' more than coaches and white people," he added. "When Black people say it, they mean it."
The former NFL player and Super Bowl champ alleges in the lawsuit, which was filed in August 2023, that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy took advantage of him, depriving him of millions while profiting off his life story.
Oher claims in the lawsuit he thought he was signing adoption papers with the family, only to learn years later he'd consented to a conservatorship, giving the Tuohys control over his finances -- a stark contrast to the adoption narrative depicted in the 2006 book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" and the Oscar-nominated film based on it.
Oher also claimed in the NYT Magazine profile that the portrayal of him as "stupid" in the book cost him a higher draft position when signing with the Baltimore Ravens -- and by extension, the increases that go with it.
"The NFL people were wondering if I could read a playbook," he said.
After initially refusing to see the film, he claims he eventually saw it with the Ravens' team chaplain and two teammates, saying it was "hard to describe my reaction" to seeing it.
"It seemed kind of funny to me, to tell you the truth, like it was a comedy about someone else. It didn't register," he said. "But social media was just starting to grow, and I started seeing stuff that I'm dumb. I'm stupid. Every article about me mentioned 'The Blind Side,' like it was part of my name."
He said he now worries his children will be impacted by his depiction in the book and in the movie.
Actor Quinton Aaron portrayed Oher in the film. Oher said he was portrayed as someone who was passive, barely spoke and had football explained to him by a child.
"If my kids can't do something in class, will their teacher think, 'Their dad is dumb -- is that why they're not getting it?'"
Oher also took issue with the movie coming out around the time he was starting his NFL career, saying, "That's my heartbreak right there ... It was as soon as I got there, I was defined."
Editor’s Picks
Oher, who ended up playing for three professional teams and winning a Super Bowl, said his lawsuit against the Tuohys isn't about money for him, his wife Tiffany and their children.
"I worked hard for that moment when I was done playing and saved my money so I could enjoy the time," he said. "I've got millions of dollars. I'm fine."
As for why it took him so long to bring the lawsuit, which is ongoing, Oher said it was due to focusing solely on his NFL career and being "locked in 100 perfect" and said now is his time to reclaim his story.
"For a long time, I was so angry mentally with what I was going through," he said. "I want to be the person I was before 'The Blind Side,' personality-wise. I'm still working on it."
Don Barrett, a lawyer for Oher, told "Good Morning America" in a statement, "The [New York Times Magazine] article was balanced and fair, and Mike was gratified by the overwhelmingly positive response from the hundreds of readers who responded."
The Tuohys said previously, in a response filed in September 2023, that they "...occasionally referred to [Oher] as a son" but only "...in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication."
They said said "there was never an intent to adopt him," despite the book and movie showing exactly that, and said they used the term "adopted" in the colloquial sense.
A Tennessee probate court judge dissolved the Tuohy's nearly 20-year conservatorship over Oher in September 2023.
The Tuohys have continued to deny any wrongdoing since the conservatorship was ended last year and say profits from the film were divided equally among their family -- including themselves and their two children -- and Oher, with each person receiving $138,000.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy have accused Oher of threatening to extort them if they didn't pay him millions.
In response to the Tuohys' extortion claims, Oher's representative shared a statement which read, "Like I have said before, I have faith in the court system, so for now I will leave what has to be said through that process. My objections to the claims made are in the filing."
"Good Morning America" reached out to attorneys for Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy for comment on Oher's interview but did not immediately hear back.
