In a new update on the Michael Oher ‘‘Blind Side’ story, real life coach Hugh Freeze told the Athletic that he thinks the “fact will come out.”
This all comes as Michael Oher filed his petition claiming the Tuohy family lied about adopting him and tricked him into a conservatorship.
Hugh Freeze, who worked with Oher as the coach at Briarcrest Christian High School in Memphis and then as assistant coach at Ole Miss noted the “I think it’s sad” in regards to the controversy. The Tuohy family, who claim they had to file a conservatorship in order to get Oher into his football career to meet NAACP standards, have been speaking to the press claiming the false adoption allegations are simply not true.
However, in regards to the entire situation, coach Freeze went on to say “I certainly don’t claim to understand all the ins and outs of adoption, conservatory, all of that. I know what I witnessed. I witnessed a family that totally took in a young man and I think without that, there is no story.”
In regards to the lawsuit, Sean Tuohy told the Daily Memphian on August 14th claiming he was “devastated” by the allegations adding, “It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children.”
Since the filing, the family has shared that they plan to voluntarily terminate Oher’s conservatorship after nearly 20 years. However, their lawyer Marty Singer also blasted the claims of financial gain as “absurd” and “transparently ridiculous.”
He stated, “The Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love. They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children.”
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Oher is now 37 years old and married with four children. He expressed in a statement saying he was “disheartened by the revelation shard in the lawsuit” alleging the filing he learned about in February of 2023 did not give him legal adoption status to the Tuohys.
The former athlete claims that his petition that the family secured a deal worth $225,000 plus 2.5% of the film’s net proceeds. The movie, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, earned more than $300 million at the box office.
Attorney Randall Fishman and attorney Steve Farese also disputed Oher’s claim that each of the four family members was paid for the movie and he was not. The legal team disputed the claim stating that each family member received the same amount of money split five ways evenly.
Farese also stated that Oher managed al of his own finances without interference from the Tuohys. “He entered his own contracts. He has his own agents,” the attorney said. As for why the conservatorship was not terminated sooner, allegedly no one had even thought about it. According to the legal team, the Tuohys and Oher have been estranged for the last 10 years.
