MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New developments are coming to light over former NFL player Michael Oher’s allegations against the family who took him in.
Oher, whose story eventually became the subject of the Oscar-winning movie “The Blind Side," played as an offensive lineman for the Briarcrest Christian Saints in Memphis, Ole Miss and the Baltimore Ravens.
In the legal filing earlier this week, Oher claims Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy lied about adopting him and instead had him enter into a conservatorship.
The news has caught a lot of people off guard, including one former Briarcrest teammate, who tells ABC24 this could still be the early days of a long, drawn out, ugly process.
"I mean, it's just tragic, almost," said Joseph Crone, who played football with Oher at Briarcrest.
Crone said he feels a sense of sympathy for both parties, getting to know Oher and the Tuohys when he played alongside Oher for the Briarcrest Christian Saints.
"Who doesn't want a 6'7" naturally gifted athlete to come be your anchor on the offensive line?" said Crone, "And so that year, we had the ball."
After high school, Crone became a lawyer with the Gibson Perryman Law Firm. In 2023, Crone is having a unique perspective at the ongoing legal battle and the petition Oher recently released.
"I'm a little bit shocked by some of it if it's true, and there are serious misgivings here," said Crone,
In a news conference Wednesday, the Tuohy family's lawyers are calling the allegations ludicrous and are pushing back against several of his claims. Randall Fishman, one of the Tuohys' attorneys, said Oher knew about the conservatorship much earlier than his petition led on, even mentioning it three times in his 2011 autobiography.
When it came to the claims over Oher not getting paid for "The Blind Side," lawyers said this was also false, saying the whole Tuohy family, including Oher, got paid the same amount. When asked to give an estimation, lawyers said each member received approximately $100,000.
As for the legal decisions, lawyers said Oher often made several decisions that did not go through the Tuohys.
“He’s negotiated his own contract with the NFL, he’s hired and fired agents. The Tuohys never had to sign off on any of that. He’s done that all on his own,” said Fishman.
Fishman added in wake of Oher’s legal challenge, the Tuohys would gladly terminate the conservatorship.
"There was one thing to accomplish, that was to make him part of the family so that the NCAA would be satisfied because Sean would have been a booster of the university," said Fishman.
Since the news broke, several people like Crone have been asking why Oher was never assigned a Guardian Ad Litem, which is a point person who helps determine what the best choices are for the minor.
"He's not going to have the ability to bargain for himself or even make medical decisions for himself. I mean, that's fraud,” said Crone.
In response, Fishman said a judge signed to waive the GAL, deeming it unnecessary since Oher was 18 years old and Oher’s mother was present. Documents show the waiver was signed December 7th, 2004, the same day as the conservatorship appointment.