A new chapter was added Monday to the bitter public dispute between former football player Michael Oher and his former conservators, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.
The couple — who took Oher in as a teenager, then turned their story into a best-selling book, which was followed by a blockbuster film adaptation (‘The Blind Side’) — filed documents in Shelby County (Tennessee) Probate Court demonstrating that Oher made multiple demands via text messages for seven-figure payouts, or else.
The Tuohys outline in court documents that Oher, a former Ole Miss and NFL offensive lineman, sent at least two separate text messages to them demanding money since 2021. First $10 million, then $15 million.
‘It was 10 million now I want 15 after taxes,’ reads one text message Oher sent to the Tuohys, according to court documents.
On top of the financial demands, Oher sent ‘menacing’ text messages to the Tuohys threatening to expose them and suggesting they work with FedEx founder and chairman Fred Smith, who is also the majority owner of Alcon Entertainment, a film production company.
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‘Get with Fred and get my money together,’ Oher wrote in one text message, subsequently calling the Tuohys ‘thieves.’
‘If something isn’t resolve (sic) this Friday, I’m going to go ahead and tell the world, how I was robbed by my suppose to be (sic) parents. That’s the deadline. Better call Fred and everyone else involved. Think how it will look when this comes out,’ one text read.
The text messages were provided by the Tuohys to support their objection to Oher’s motion for a temporary injunction that would bar them from using his name, image and likeness for their financial gain.
In August, Oher launched a legal offensive against the Tuohys seeking to end their nearly two-decade conservatorship over him. In September, a Shelby County Probate Court judge formally dissolved the conservatorship. But the financial battle is still a major point of contention on both sides.
The Tuohys say they offered a total of $138,309.90 to Oher from the proceeds of ‘The Blind Side’ — which was the agreed upon amount from the outset. The couple also says that’s the same amount of money it made from the profits of the film, as well as their two children. When Oher refused to accept the money, the Tuohys say they deposited it into a shared account in his son’s name.