So the Tuohy's were phonies (Michael Oher)

[05_never_again]

@Delmar also
I guess my question is about the timing of all of this. How did they know he would become an NFL player? How did they know they would be able to sell this story to a publisher? I don’t think there’s anything wrong w/ asking a few questions about how this came about before we all decide that Oher was the one completely wronged here.

He didn't make the NFL until 2009, but remember Michael Lewis's book came out in 2006 and presumably he had the idea and approached Sean Tuohy about it before then. Michael Lewis and Sean Tuohy are also childhood friends who went to school together in New Orleans at Newman, the same school the Mannings went to.

You're right that there was no way for them to know for sure he'd be a great college player, much less play professionally. However, it didn't take a huge amount of foresight to see where their story might be going, especially when a very prominent author approaches you and wants to write a book about it. That would have happened in 2005-06, way before he went pro or even played at OM.

 

[Delmar]

@Delmar also
I guess my question is about the timing of all of this. How did they know he would become an NFL player? How did they know they would be able to sell this story to a publisher? I don’t think there’s anything wrong w/ asking a few questions about how this came about before we all decide that Oher was the one completely wronged here.

Oh I don’t think either side is going to come out looking good here. I think somebody has gotten in Oher’s ear that he’s been mistreated and that there is cash to be had. And I’m sure the Tuohy’s had their own interests to look out for. Rich folks always do. Unless there is a settlement, all of it will come out. Again, the money trail here is going to tell the story and it shouldn’t be hard to tell who is lying and who isn’t.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Oh I don’t think either side is going to come out looking good here. I think somebody has gotten in Oher’s ear that he’s been mistreated and that there is cash to be had. And I’m sure the Tuohy’s had their own interests to look out for. Rich folks always do. Unless there is a settlement, all of it will come out. Again, the money trail here is going to tell the story and it shouldn’t be hard to tell who is lying and who isn’t.

He didn't make the NFL until 2009, but remember Michael Lewis's book came out in 2006 and presumably he had the idea and approached Sean Tuohy about it before then. Michael Lewis and Sean Tuohy are also childhood friends who went to school together in New Orleans at Newman, the same school the Mannings went to.

You're right that there was no way for them to know for sure he'd be a great college player, much less play professionally. However, it didn't take a huge amount of foresight to see where their story might be going, especially when a very prominent author approaches you and wants to write a book about it. That would have happened in 2005-06, way before he went pro or even played at OM.

I agree on both posts. I just wasn’t really sure of the timeline of events. I felt like the Tuohy’s would be making a pretty large bet on something w/ very small odds of actually happening. I always knew that the movie was full of a ton of falsehoods, like most sports movies (see Rudy). It’s a shame that it has gotten to this point that what seemed to be a good result for everyone involved has turned into this.

 

[Jackcrevol]

You know, I don't care. They were sports fans who acted accordingly and he's had a very good life and I don't much care about it all now.

Guy made millions. $16-25 to be exact. This law suit is for $200K.

Is it worth the stupidity and insanity to sue someone that shows you love during a rough time in your life?

Then again, doing things out of love wouldve never gotten to this point.

 

[Delmar]

I agree on both posts. I just wasn’t really sure of the timeline of events. I felt like the Tuohy’s would be making a pretty large bet on something w/ very small odds of actually happening. I always knew that the movie was full of a ton of falsehoods, like most sports movies (see Rudy). It’s a shame that it has gotten to this point that what seemed to be a good result for everyone involved has turned into this.

I can tell you that I saw Michael on the football field at Briarcrest and up close when he was throwing the shot on their track team. He was a man child and an absolute mountain with agility to boot. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was a special athlete. He was light years different physically from the actor who portrayed him in the movie.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I can tell you that I saw Michael on the football field at Briarcrest and up close when he was throwing the shot on their track team. He was a man child and an absolute mountain with agility to boot. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was a special athlete. He was light years different physically from the actor who portrayed him in the movie.

I don’t doubt it. I’m sure it was easy to see the difference at Briarcrest too.

 

[05_never_again]

I agree on both posts. I just wasn’t really sure of the timeline of events. I felt like the Tuohy’s would be making a pretty large bet on something w/ very small odds of actually happening. I always knew that the movie was full of a ton of falsehoods, like most sports movies (see Rudy). It’s a shame that it has gotten to this point that what seemed to be a good result for everyone involved has turned into this.

I think my timing was slightly off, but the jist is still the same. Michael Lewis's book came out in September 2006, during Michael Oher's sophomore year at OM. I'm assuming the process for writing the book probably started in 2005, during Michael's senior year at Briarcrest or during his Freshman year at OM, in which he was a Freshman All-American.

Now, I do think the Tuohys attached themselves to Michael once they figured out he was a good HS player at Briarcrest, but it wasn't like they glommed on to him after he was at OM, or after he made it to the NFL. I do think they saw where this had the potential to go pretty early on though. Definitely by the time Lewis came to them wanting to write the book.

 

[stolitonic]

Guy made millions. $16-25 to be exact. This law suit is for $200K.

Is it worth the stupidity and insanity to sue someone that shows you love during a rough time in your life?

Then again, doing things out of love wouldve never gotten to this point.

See, there was one of my questions which so far I have been coming up empty on getting an answer.

Namely, how much is he actually sueing for?

There seems to be a huge gap between what the Tuoheys collectively say they have gotten vs what Other says they have gotten.

The Tuoheys say they got about $75 K total when the movie was made and another $250k in residuals over the course of the last 15 years or so. Split that sum 5 ways and that is what each of them got.

Quite frankly, if there is all there really is out there then why bother. That number kind of looks in line with the residuals I would expect from a Hollywood studio-about 1 percent lol

Other things I have seen in stories and found interesting-

Oher said in his own book that he wasnt adopted by the Tuoheys-and that was written like a decade ago.

Oher got married few years ago and apparently wifey isn't too fond of the Tuoheys

I have said on this thread that this one is going to have a lot of facets and it's still looking that way. Whose side you look at is going to determine who ends up looking the worst

Personally, for what is in the grand scheme of things a pretty paltry sum I'm not so sure this is going to be worth it.

The attorneys are going to come out of this the only winners on either side.

 

[05_never_again]

See, there was one of my questions which so far I have been coming up empty on getting an answer.

Namely, how much is he actually sueing for?

There seems to be a huge gap between what the Tuoheys collectively say they have gotten vs what Other says they have gotten.

The Tuoheys say they got about $75 K total when the movie was made and another $250k in residuals over the course of the last 15 years or so. Split that sum 5 ways and that is what each of them got.

Quite frankly, if there is all there really is out there then why bother. That number kind of looks in line with the residuals I would expect from a Hollywood studio-about 1 percent lol

Other things I have seen in stories and found interesting-

Oher said in his own book that he wasnt adopted by the Tuoheys-and that was written like a decade ago.

Oher got married few years ago and apparently wifey isn't too fond of the Tuoheys

I have said on this thread that this one is going to have a lot of facets and it's still looking that way. Whose side you look at is going to determine who ends up looking the worst

Personally, for what is in the grand scheme of things a pretty paltry sum I'm not so sure this is going to be worth it.

The attorneys are going to come out of this the only winners on either side.

I don't think his petition states specifically. It states them to disgorge whatever earnings that should have gone to him, but doesn't specifically state what those are. I don't know if that is because he doesn't actually have a legal claim to those earnings and he's trying to scare them, or if this is just a preliminary step in the process.

Your last sentence is true 100% of the time, in seemingly every situation in life.

 

[Jackcrevol]

See, there was one of my questions which so far I have been coming up empty on getting an answer.

Namely, how much is he actually sueing for?

There seems to be a huge gap between what the Tuoheys collectively say they have gotten vs what Other says they have gotten.

The Tuoheys say they got about $75 K total when the movie was made and another $250k in residuals over the course of the last 15 years or so. Split that sum 5 ways and that is what each of them got.

Quite frankly, if there is all there really is out there then why bother. That number kind of looks in line with the residuals I would expect from a Hollywood studio-about 1 percent lol

Other things I have seen in stories and found interesting-

Oher said in his own book that he wasnt adopted by the Tuoheys-and that was written like a decade ago.

Oher got married few years ago and apparently wifey isn't too fond of the Tuoheys

I have said on this thread that this one is going to have a lot of facets and it's still looking that way. Whose side you look at is going to determine who ends up looking the worst

Personally, for what is in the grand scheme of things a pretty paltry sum I'm not so sure this is going to be worth it.

The attorneys are going to come out of this the only winners on either side.

Never a truer word.

 

[n_huffhines]

Why did Martha Stewart trade on inside information in 2001, which only netted her about $230,000? She was a billionaire at the time. Greed.

It was ********. She was not found guilty of securities fraud. It was obstruction of justice and false statements to a federal investigator. Maybe she committed insider trading but there was no evidence. The judge actually dismissed the fraud charge bc there was so little evidence

 

[n_huffhines]

 

[05_never_again]

View attachment 570216

Someone on Twitter (oddly enough) had a great, pithy take on this yesterday. They said the Tuohys were "opportunistically altruistic."

They did help him out (although I still think he goes on to a successful football career without them), but it was firmly with an eye towards what they got out of it. They didn't take a strong interest in him until he emerged as a stud O-lineman at Briarcrest. That's one angle that the movie really, really gets wrong.

 

[BowlBrother85]

It was ********. She was not found guilty of securities fraud. It was obstruction of justice and false statements to a federal investigator. Maybe she committed insider trading but there was no evidence. The judge actually dismissed the fraud charge bc there was so little evidence

My point was not to change the subject to her ... but to instead explain that wealthy people will often partake in illicit schemes to make amounts of money that they don't really need.

You can't cite examples on here without threads going into unwanted and unnecessary tangents.

 

[CagleMtnVol]

Maybe the writers strike got him curious about royalties. Regardless, it doesn't matter why. The Tuohys were already wealthy before and they knowingly exploited Oher for their own financial gain. It's vile. I hope he can find grounds for a civil suit.

There is no proof of that?

 

[n_huffhines]

There is no proof of that?

Proof to convict or proof to have an opinion. Why else would they lie about adoption vs. conservatorship?

 

[CagleMtnVol]

Proof to convict or proof to have an opinion. Why else would they lie about adoption vs. conservatorship?

We only have the word if Oher. Like I said nearly 10 years after he retired from the NFL and some 20 years since all this happened.

Again I ask why now?

Something or someone has turned him against the Tuohy's and I don't think it's all about wha has brought thi all on.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Someone on Twitter (oddly enough) had a great, pithy take on this yesterday. They said the Tuohys were "opportunistically altruistic."

They did help him out (although I still think he goes on to a successful football career without them), but it was firmly with an eye towards what they got out of it. They didn't take a strong interest in him until he emerged as a stud O-lineman at Briarcrest. That's one angle that the movie really, really gets wrong.

Oher never seemed comfortable with the white savior aspect of the movie. It's never been that he didn't appreciate what the Tuohy's did ... it's that he believes they mutually benefitted from each other.

 

[Firebirdparts]

Namely, how much is he actually sueing for?

He doesn't know yet, I think.

 

[n_huffhines]

We only have the word if Oher. Like I said nearly 10 years after he retired from the NFL and some 20 years since all this happened.

Again I ask why now?

Something or someone has turned him against the Tuohy's and I don't think it's all about wha has brought thi all on.

Because he found out this year that he had never been adopted.

Maybe they didn't make $ off the movie, as they claim. Seems weird that they wouldn't.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Because he found out this year that he had never been adopted.

Maybe they didn't make $ off the movie, as they claim. Seems weird that they wouldn't.

Sean Tuohy Jr. did an interview where he said that he had received around $70,000 from proceeds of the movie over the course of the last 4 or 5 years. The guy seemed credible, like he understood why Oher was upset. The Tuohy's did make money from it, but not as much as what Oher thinks. Whatever it was, obviously, Oher should have gotten a cut.

 

[05_never_again]

Oher never seemed comfortable with the white savior aspect of the movie. It's never been that he didn't appreciate what the Tuohy's did ... it's that he believes they mutually benefitted from each other.

I think he was most uncomfortable with how he was portrayed. The character in the movie is a very sheltered, borderline developmentally disabled person who has no clue what football is before being introduced to it by the Tuohys, and was brought into Briarcrest by the Tuohys. Neither is remotely close to the truth.

 

[Volunteer_Kirby]

There is no proof of that?

The reality is that the Tuohys covered their trail pretty well here.

One other thing they get the benefit from is that the husband was friends with the author Michael Lewis back in school. Also of note is that Lewis' agent negotiated the movie contract/royalties with Fox. These are important details IMO.

These two knew full and well what they were doing. Would love to see how much financial gain they've seen since the release of the film, particularly for the foundations they own. Would also love to see financial records of the royalties from Fox dating back to the release of the film. That's where the real meat & potatoes are.

I think the Tuohys are alleging that Oher is unwell and has attempted to blackmail them before. They also allege that he receives his royalty check, same as their, but has recently refused it (what???).

It's a raw deal for Oher. He can't sue Fox/Disney since he signed over his rights. He may not be able to sue Michael Lewis either since the Tuohys could've signed a similar contract for him - even years after the fact.

If the story is true then he is going to get laughed out of court. What grounds can he sue on? It was all done legally.

If it's false then he's still going to get laughed out of court.

Either way, I hope there are a few good journalists on this. It should be relatively easy to discern if Oher is, in fact, unwell and trying to blackmail the Tuohys. They should also be able to get those royalty records dating back to the first royalty checks. Oher's best chance for retribution is public ridicule. That is where we're at right now.

Defamation lawsuit from the Tuohys in 10... 9... 8...

Can't wait the Netflix doc to drop!

 

[Volunteer_Kirby]

Because he found out this year that he had never been adopted.

Maybe they didn't make $ off the movie, as they claim. Seems weird that they wouldn't.

You can read the statement from the lawyer.

The Tuohys are taking the role of the victim. They still love and care for Michael despite the blatant defamation.

 

[BowlBrother85]

I think he was most uncomfortable with how he was portrayed. The character in the movie is a very sheltered, borderline developmentally disabled person who has no clue what football is before being introduced to it by the Tuohys, and was brought into Briarcrest by the Tuohys. Neither is remotely close to the truth.

Yeah. The movie took a very simplistic approach to the characterizations and to their character arcs. It was very much like a Lifetime movie, as others have said.