The Blind Side scandal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read an article where Leigh Anne mentions Michael is very frugal and you can tell from his instagram that he’s not a flashy guy. His clothes don’t even look overly luxurious. I have no reason to believe he is doing this because he ran out of money. I truly believe after getting married he wanted to tie up some legal ends and all of this information (or lack of) came to his attention. He has every to ask for his financial documents from his conservators. The Tuohys neglected to provide them to the court for almost 20 years.

I suspect it all stemmed from a core emotional issue--coming to realize he wasn't really a part of the family, which then led to suspicion about finances etc. I feel for him. The Tuohys could have been transparent. Why weren't they? No excuse for them to fail to provide the annual accounting required by law.

This is the million dollar question!

Why didn't Oher ask the court to end the conservatorship years ago? He was in the NFL. He's worked with lawyers before. Why did he wait so long? He knew in 2011.

I am one degree of separation from this family. The answer is: they told him that "conservatorship" is how older kids/teens get adopted. They said, over and over in both his presence and in the press, that they had adopted him by setting up the conservatorship. Tuohy parents knew all along that this was absolutely not the case- that conservatorship meant control over, for the purposes of getting certain outcomes that they wanted, like his agreeing to go to Ole Miss. (I am quite sure that they never had a thought about controlling or getting his football money- they are the furthest thing from needing more money.)

Certain things happened in the past 3-5 years that made him more aware that he was not thought of as "a part of the family" in any sense other than superficially and for image. Now he is seeking to get all the details of the past agreements and actions revealed and explained. I say it is about time. But it took this long for him to really see behind the fake stories.

Uh huh. It was asking for money. Which they did not give him. So he began his campaign of blackmail.

No. Absolutely not. Trust me - all parties involved are beyond comfortable and are set for life financially. This is about getting to the truth and seeking a reckoning for possible past deception and harms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read an article where Leigh Anne mentions Michael is very frugal and you can tell from his instagram that he’s not a flashy guy. His clothes don’t even look overly luxurious. I have no reason to believe he is doing this because he ran out of money. I truly believe after getting married he wanted to tie up some legal ends and all of this information (or lack of) came to his attention. He has every to ask for his financial documents from his conservators. The Tuohys neglected to provide them to the court for almost 20 years.

I suspect it all stemmed from a core emotional issue--coming to realize he wasn't really a part of the family, which then led to suspicion about finances etc. I feel for him. The Tuohys could have been transparent. Why weren't they? No excuse for them to fail to provide the annual accounting required by law.

This is the million dollar question!

Why didn't Oher ask the court to end the conservatorship years ago? He was in the NFL. He's worked with lawyers before. Why did he wait so long? He knew in 2011.

I am one degree of separation from this family. The answer is: they told him that "conservatorship" is how older kids/teens get adopted. They said, over and over in both his presence and in the press, that they had adopted him by setting up the conservatorship. Tuohy parents knew all along that this was absolutely not the case- that conservatorship meant control over, for the purposes of getting certain outcomes that they wanted, like his agreeing to go to Ole Miss. (I am quite sure that they never had a thought about controlling or getting his football money- they are the furthest thing from needing more money.)

Certain things happened in the past 3-5 years that made him more aware that he was not thought of as "a part of the family" in any sense other than superficially and for image. Now he is seeking to get all the details of the past agreements and actions revealed and explained. I say it is about time. But it took this long for him to really see behind the fake stories.

Uh huh. It was asking for money. Which they did not give him. So he began his campaign of blackmail.

I don’t believe the Tuoyhs take on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read an article where Leigh Anne mentions Michael is very frugal and you can tell from his instagram that he’s not a flashy guy. His clothes don’t even look overly luxurious. I have no reason to believe he is doing this because he ran out of money. I truly believe after getting married he wanted to tie up some legal ends and all of this information (or lack of) came to his attention. He has every to ask for his financial documents from his conservators. The Tuohys neglected to provide them to the court for almost 20 years.

I suspect it all stemmed from a core emotional issue--coming to realize he wasn't really a part of the family, which then led to suspicion about finances etc. I feel for him. The Tuohys could have been transparent. Why weren't they? No excuse for them to fail to provide the annual accounting required by law.

This is the million dollar question!

Why didn't Oher ask the court to end the conservatorship years ago? He was in the NFL. He's worked with lawyers before. Why did he wait so long? He knew in 2011.

Because he stupidly thought that it was the equivalent of an adoption which is how it was described to him. Definitely dumb on his part but not nefarious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read an article where Leigh Anne mentions Michael is very frugal and you can tell from his instagram that he’s not a flashy guy. His clothes don’t even look overly luxurious. I have no reason to believe he is doing this because he ran out of money. I truly believe after getting married he wanted to tie up some legal ends and all of this information (or lack of) came to his attention. He has every to ask for his financial documents from his conservators. The Tuohys neglected to provide them to the court for almost 20 years.

I suspect it all stemmed from a core emotional issue--coming to realize he wasn't really a part of the family, which then led to suspicion about finances etc. I feel for him. The Tuohys could have been transparent. Why weren't they? No excuse for them to fail to provide the annual accounting required by law.

This is the million dollar question!

Why didn't Oher ask the court to end the conservatorship years ago? He was in the NFL. He's worked with lawyers before. Why did he wait so long? He knew in 2011.

I am one degree of separation from this family. The answer is: they told him that "conservatorship" is how older kids/teens get adopted. They said, over and over in both his presence and in the press, that they had adopted him by setting up the conservatorship. Tuohy parents knew all along that this was absolutely not the case- that conservatorship meant control over, for the purposes of getting certain outcomes that they wanted, like his agreeing to go to Ole Miss. (I am quite sure that they never had a thought about controlling or getting his football money- they are the furthest thing from needing more money.)

Certain things happened in the past 3-5 years that made him more aware that he was not thought of as "a part of the family" in any sense other than superficially and for image. Now he is seeking to get all the details of the past agreements and actions revealed and explained. I say it is about time. But it took this long for him to really see behind the fake stories.

You can't gloss right over "certain things happened" obviously that's the crux of the issue. Did Oher view them as much as family or was this some kind of one way street? He wants the perks of being an adopted son, ie included in the will, but was he holding up his end of maintaining a relationship? There's a lot nobody knows.

I really doubt he is/was trying to get into their will and even bio kids can be cut out of a will. He’s probably worth more than they are and I would guess he hates how the film portrayed them as a family when he now realizes that by going the conservatorship route rather than adoption they don’t really consider him family and used him. This seems to be more of of a dignity issue that will play out in the courts and they only way a court can try to make it right is with money.

No, going to court won’t fix it if it’s about that. Everyone will lose but the attorneys.

What would help is for him to go ahead and write his book and tell the story from his perspective while riding the coattails of the popularity of the movie to make money and then he gets dignity and money. His story. His sales.

Litigation provides information though. Like why didn’t they do the annual filings required by law? How much was made for the book and the film? The Touhys said basically nothing but I saw in People that the amount was close to $800k which is not millions but certainly not nothing. Can’t write an updated book without updated information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is incriminating about a happy photo of him at the wedding?

You’re hung up on assuming he feels betrayed and has emotional pain. Most of us are saying it’s hard to imagine that given that they jet when he was an older teenager. Never mind legal definitions- did he feel loved? Did he feel like part of the family?

They are boosters. Fame whores. Ok. He got a free education and a great pro career. The only reason he has a book to sell is because they had a book to sell. It’s not a fairytale but his life is indisputably better regardless.

Yes, but it’s 2023 and woke culture demands the white family be dragged through the mud.

I don’t know what woke culture is.

Can you not acknowledge that much/all of the Tuohy’s narrative about their history with Michael puts his “African Americanness” front and center, and portrays them as “being so brave and good for how they saved him, their adoptive son”? That is what I see, over and over. And it’s a gross, false portrayal. That falsity invites me to reflect on why they were so insistent on selling that false portrayal.

Is that woke?

Did they not help him out?

Sure but do you really think that if they were honest with the fact that they let him live with them for a few years and paid for a tutor in exchange for him going to Ole Miss that was a story that should’ve been made into a movie and would’ve supported Leigh-Ann getting five figure motivational speaking gigs as his “adoptive mom”? Like I tutored underprivileged children throughout college if one of them makes it to the NFL should they write a book about me?

Do you really think anyone would buy his book today if not for The Blindside? “Talented poor kid makes the NFL” is not a unique story. There’s only a market for his book because of the movie.

Yes. Plenty of books about sports figures from rough backgrounds that have sold well. Do you think anyone would by a book about the Touhys without him? “Man sells business and wife stays at home to raise kids” is certainly less interesting than talented poor kid makes the NFL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without the family who took Michael Oher into their home, Mr. Oher may have never played pro football. His gpa was way too low for NCAA requirement and the family got him 20 hours of tutoring per week. Oher took correspondence courses from BYU to raise his gpa and allow him to play NCAA football at Ole Miss.

Not trying to praise or criticize anyone, but there is always at least two sides to every story.

Also, many ex football players experience depression as a result of having suffered multiple concussions. I wonder if this is a factor in this matter.

He was already playing football. He met the family because he was in PREP school with their kids. He was not dumb. He was just in a bad family situation.

He had a huge GPA problem.

Don’t colleges know how to work with prospective recruits with low GPA?

Yes. They manage to get around it all the time.

I have no inside knowledge into this situation. Nor do any of you really.

But re: NCAA and grades, maybe some will work with the kids who have lower GPAs. But not all. And there is a minimum. One kid at our HS had a college coach walk out of a meeting with him after seeing his GPA and told him that was a nonstarter. THe kid was very open about that with his team.

Many football players go to community college for a year and use that GPA to go to college. It's not a big deal.

He could have done that, but he didn’t. Instead he accepted the help that was offered. Do you have any evidence that he regrets that decision?

Something isn’t help when it’s in engaged for something of value. The Touhys helped him because they wanted (1) to put the story in their friend’s book that was published less than 2 years after the “adoption” and (2) find a desirable recruit for their alma mater. Do you “help” your employer by accepting a salary for working?

NP. None of this matters. You’re discussing feelings. This is about the legal issues. People can help, and except help, for whatever reasons they want.

Accept.

And considering one of his claims is that they did not appropriately compensate him for the money they made off of his story you can’t say that accepting help somehow precludes him from seeking an accounting of what they made, how, and why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without the family who took Michael Oher into their home, Mr. Oher may have never played pro football. His gpa was way too low for NCAA requirement and the family got him 20 hours of tutoring per week. Oher took correspondence courses from BYU to raise his gpa and allow him to play NCAA football at Ole Miss.

Not trying to praise or criticize anyone, but there is always at least two sides to every story.

Also, many ex football players experience depression as a result of having suffered multiple concussions. I wonder if this is a factor in this matter.

He was already playing football. He met the family because he was in PREP school with their kids. He was not dumb. He was just in a bad family situation.

He had a huge GPA problem.

Don’t colleges know how to work with prospective recruits with low GPA?

Yes. They manage to get around it all the time.

I have no inside knowledge into this situation. Nor do any of you really.

But re: NCAA and grades, maybe some will work with the kids who have lower GPAs. But not all. And there is a minimum. One kid at our HS had a college coach walk out of a meeting with him after seeing his GPA and told him that was a nonstarter. THe kid was very open about that with his team.

Many football players go to community college for a year and use that GPA to go to college. It's not a big deal.

He could have done that, but he didn’t. Instead he accepted the help that was offered. Do you have any evidence that he regrets that decision?

Something isn’t help when it’s in engaged for something of value. The Touhys helped him because they wanted (1) to put the story in their friend’s book that was published less than 2 years after the “adoption” and (2) find a desirable recruit for their alma mater. Do you “help” your employer by accepting a salary for working?

NP. None of this matters. You’re discussing feelings. This is about the legal issues. People can help, and except help, for whatever reasons they want.

Accept.

And considering one of his claims is that they did not appropriately compensate him for the money they made off of his story you can’t say that accepting help somehow precludes him from seeking an accounting of what they made, how, and why.

It's their story, not just his story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is incriminating about a happy photo of him at the wedding?

You’re hung up on assuming he feels betrayed and has emotional pain. Most of us are saying it’s hard to imagine that given that they jet when he was an older teenager. Never mind legal definitions- did he feel loved? Did he feel like part of the family?

They are boosters. Fame whores. Ok. He got a free education and a great pro career. The only reason he has a book to sell is because they had a book to sell. It’s not a fairytale but his life is indisputably better regardless.

Yes, but it’s 2023 and woke culture demands the white family be dragged through the mud.

I don’t know what woke culture is.

Can you not acknowledge that much/all of the Tuohy’s narrative about their history with Michael puts his “African Americanness” front and center, and portrays them as “being so brave and good for how they saved him, their adoptive son”? That is what I see, over and over. And it’s a gross, false portrayal. That falsity invites me to reflect on why they were so insistent on selling that false portrayal.

Is that woke?

Did they not help him out?

Sure but do you really think that if they were honest with the fact that they let him live with them for a few years and paid for a tutor in exchange for him going to Ole Miss that was a story that should’ve been made into a movie and would’ve supported Leigh-Ann getting five figure motivational speaking gigs as his “adoptive mom”? Like I tutored underprivileged children throughout college if one of them makes it to the NFL should they write a book about me?

Do you really think anyone would buy his book today if not for The Blindside? “Talented poor kid makes the NFL” is not a unique story. There’s only a market for his book because of the movie.

Yes. Plenty of books about sports figures from rough backgrounds that have sold well. Do you think anyone would by a book about the Touhys without him? “Man sells business and wife stays at home to raise kids” is certainly less interesting than talented poor kid makes the NFL.

So why hasn't anyone made a movie about those poor kids who made the NFL? There certainly are a lot of them. How many movies can you name?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is incriminating about a happy photo of him at the wedding?

You’re hung up on assuming he feels betrayed and has emotional pain. Most of us are saying it’s hard to imagine that given that they jet when he was an older teenager. Never mind legal definitions- did he feel loved? Did he feel like part of the family?

They are boosters. Fame whores. Ok. He got a free education and a great pro career. The only reason he has a book to sell is because they had a book to sell. It’s not a fairytale but his life is indisputably better regardless.

Yes, but it’s 2023 and woke culture demands the white family be dragged through the mud.

I don’t know what woke culture is.

Can you not acknowledge that much/all of the Tuohy’s narrative about their history with Michael puts his “African Americanness” front and center, and portrays them as “being so brave and good for how they saved him, their adoptive son”? That is what I see, over and over. And it’s a gross, false portrayal. That falsity invites me to reflect on why they were so insistent on selling that false portrayal.

Is that woke?

Did they not help him out?

Sure but do you really think that if they were honest with the fact that they let him live with them for a few years and paid for a tutor in exchange for him going to Ole Miss that was a story that should’ve been made into a movie and would’ve supported Leigh-Ann getting five figure motivational speaking gigs as his “adoptive mom”? Like I tutored underprivileged children throughout college if one of them makes it to the NFL should they write a book about me?

Do you really think anyone would buy his book today if not for The Blindside? “Talented poor kid makes the NFL” is not a unique story. There’s only a market for his book because of the movie.

Yes. Plenty of books about sports figures from rough backgrounds that have sold well. Do you think anyone would by a book about the Touhys without him? “Man sells business and wife stays at home to raise kids” is certainly less interesting than talented poor kid makes the NFL.

It’s been said here repeatedly: this was a mutually beneficial relationship. But his share of the movie is change for him now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without the family who took Michael Oher into their home, Mr. Oher may have never played pro football. His gpa was way too low for NCAA requirement and the family got him 20 hours of tutoring per week. Oher took correspondence courses from BYU to raise his gpa and allow him to play NCAA football at Ole Miss.

Not trying to praise or criticize anyone, but there is always at least two sides to every story.

Also, many ex football players experience depression as a result of having suffered multiple concussions. I wonder if this is a factor in this matter.

He was already playing football. He met the family because he was in PREP school with their kids. He was not dumb. He was just in a bad family situation.

He had a huge GPA problem.

Don’t colleges know how to work with prospective recruits with low GPA?

Yes. They manage to get around it all the time.

I have no inside knowledge into this situation. Nor do any of you really.

But re: NCAA and grades, maybe some will work with the kids who have lower GPAs. But not all. And there is a minimum. One kid at our HS had a college coach walk out of a meeting with him after seeing his GPA and told him that was a nonstarter. THe kid was very open about that with his team.

Many football players go to community college for a year and use that GPA to go to college. It's not a big deal.

He could have done that, but he didn’t. Instead he accepted the help that was offered. Do you have any evidence that he regrets that decision?

Something isn’t help when it’s in engaged for something of value. The Touhys helped him because they wanted (1) to put the story in their friend’s book that was published less than 2 years after the “adoption” and (2) find a desirable recruit for their alma mater. Do you “help” your employer by accepting a salary for working?

NP. None of this matters. You’re discussing feelings. This is about the legal issues. People can help, and except help, for whatever reasons they want.

Accept.

And considering one of his claims is that they did not appropriately compensate him for the money they made off of his story you can’t say that accepting help somehow precludes him from seeking an accounting of what they made, how, and why.

Except... he's not entitled to that. Not an accounting, not any money. Anything they've done in terms of speaking tours etc. is theirs and theirs alone. Access to this information will not be granted in discovery. He will never be compensated for it. It's a complete fool's errand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is incriminating about a happy photo of him at the wedding?

You’re hung up on assuming he feels betrayed and has emotional pain. Most of us are saying it’s hard to imagine that given that they jet when he was an older teenager. Never mind legal definitions- did he feel loved? Did he feel like part of the family?

They are boosters. Fame whores. Ok. He got a free education and a great pro career. The only reason he has a book to sell is because they had a book to sell. It’s not a fairytale but his life is indisputably better regardless.

Yes, but it’s 2023 and woke culture demands the white family be dragged through the mud.

I don’t know what woke culture is.

Can you not acknowledge that much/all of the Tuohy’s narrative about their history with Michael puts his “African Americanness” front and center, and portrays them as “being so brave and good for how they saved him, their adoptive son”? That is what I see, over and over. And it’s a gross, false portrayal. That falsity invites me to reflect on why they were so insistent on selling that false portrayal.

Is that woke?

Did they not help him out?

Sure but do you really think that if they were honest with the fact that they let him live with them for a few years and paid for a tutor in exchange for him going to Ole Miss that was a story that should’ve been made into a movie and would’ve supported Leigh-Ann getting five figure motivational speaking gigs as his “adoptive mom”? Like I tutored underprivileged children throughout college if one of them makes it to the NFL should they write a book about me?

Do you really think anyone would buy his book today if not for The Blindside? “Talented poor kid makes the NFL” is not a unique story. There’s only a market for his book because of the movie.

Yes. Plenty of books about sports figures from rough backgrounds that have sold well. Do you think anyone would by a book about the Touhys without him? “Man sells business and wife stays at home to raise kids” is certainly less interesting than talented poor kid makes the NFL.

It’s been said here repeatedly: this was a mutually beneficial relationship. But his share of the movie is change for him now.

Well. Of course he is entitled to his share of the movie rights, if he truly was defrauded of that. BUT if he thinks he deserves a cut of their speaking engagements etc? He's been horribly misled by his lawyer, because he does NOT.

[Anonymous]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/opinion/i-have-a-pretty-good-idea-why-michael-oher-is-angry.html?smid=url-share

Good article in the New York Times about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is incriminating about a happy photo of him at the wedding?

You’re hung up on assuming he feels betrayed and has emotional pain. Most of us are saying it’s hard to imagine that given that they jet when he was an older teenager. Never mind legal definitions- did he feel loved? Did he feel like part of the family?

They are boosters. Fame whores. Ok. He got a free education and a great pro career. The only reason he has a book to sell is because they had a book to sell. It’s not a fairytale but his life is indisputably better regardless.

Yes, but it’s 2023 and woke culture demands the white family be dragged through the mud.

I don’t know what woke culture is.

Can you not acknowledge that much/all of the Tuohy’s narrative about their history with Michael puts his “African Americanness” front and center, and portrays them as “being so brave and good for how they saved him, their adoptive son”? That is what I see, over and over. And it’s a gross, false portrayal. That falsity invites me to reflect on why they were so insistent on selling that false portrayal.

Is that woke?

Did they not help him out?

Sure but do you really think that if they were honest with the fact that they let him live with them for a few years and paid for a tutor in exchange for him going to Ole Miss that was a story that should’ve been made into a movie and would’ve supported Leigh-Ann getting five figure motivational speaking gigs as his “adoptive mom”? Like I tutored underprivileged children throughout college if one of them makes it to the NFL should they write a book about me?

Do you really think anyone would buy his book today if not for The Blindside? “Talented poor kid makes the NFL” is not a unique story. There’s only a market for his book because of the movie.

Yes. Plenty of books about sports figures from rough backgrounds that have sold well. Do you think anyone would by a book about the Touhys without him? “Man sells business and wife stays at home to raise kids” is certainly less interesting than talented poor kid makes the NFL.

Ummm that is not the Touhys. Basketball star married cheerleader, build multi-million dollar company while he is color commentator for Ole Miss and SEC. That's a book. Oher was a mid football player and there is nothing interesting about him without the Touhys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/opinion/i-have-a-pretty-good-idea-why-michael-oher-is-angry.html?smid=url-share

Good article in the New York Times about this.

This is behind a paywall. Can you summarize?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/opinion/i-have-a-pretty-good-idea-why-michael-oher-is-angry.html?smid=url-share

Good article in the New York Times about this.

This is not an article but is an opinion piece that deals with adoption not most of the issues in this case.