Why ‘Blind Side’ Parents Chose a Conservatorship Over Adopting Michael Oher

The real-life inspirations behind the characters in The Blind Side have traded some heated words this week after retired NFL player Michael Oher, the main subject of both the bestselling book and its 2009 film adaptation, alleged that a main part of his story wasn't true. Rather than adopting him — the heartwarming core of their narrative — Oher said that the Tuohy family created a conservatorship instead.

Oher claims in legal documents filed Monday that the the Tuohy family tricked him into signing a document (which he thought was a "necessary step in the adoption process") that named the Tuohys as his conservators.

As co-conservators, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who was played by Sandra Bullock in the film, and her husband, Sean Tuohy, were legally authorized to make business deals in his name, the filing alleges.

Since that news broke, Sean and his son Sean Tuohy, Jr. have denied allegations of any wrongdoing, including pushing back on Oher's claims that the family made millions from their story, while Oher received nothing, especially from the film he said "would not have existed without him."

How did Sean Tuohy explain the conservatorship?

Sean Tuohy, in a recent interview, said the conservatorship was done to comply with NCAA rules to enable Oher — who began living with the family as a teen — to attend the college of his choice.

"Michael was obviously living with us for a long time, and the NCAA didn't like that," Tuohy told the Daily Memphian. "They said the only way Michael could go to Ole Miss was if he was actually part of the family. 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."

According to adoption laws in Tennessee, where the Tuohys live and established the conservatorship for Oher, someone can be adopted as an adult. Some states do have specific age limits and rules regarding adult adoptions, but Tennessee's rules do not specify any.

The Tuohys have yet to respond to The Messenger's request for comment.

What is a conservatorship?

According to the Tennessee Bar Association, a conservatorship is "a legal relationship created by a court order taking decision-making authority way from a person with a disability and vesting that authority in another." It defined a "person with a disability" as someone "in need of partial or full supervision, protection and assistance."

Sean has said the family will end it to comply with Oher's wishes.

"We didn't make any money off the movie," Tuohy said, per the report. "Well, Michael Lewis [the author of the book The Blind Side] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each."

He added: "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...I will say it's upsetting that people would think I would want to make money off any of my children."

What is next?

The court in Shelby County, Tenn., will determine the next steps following Oher's petition, which is requesting the termination of the conservatorship, accounting of any money made that Oher should have been entitled to and any compensation related to that accounting.