So the Tuohy's were phonies (Michael Oher)

[BowlBrother85]

Can't wait the Netflix doc to drop!

If anything is a certainty, it is this. ^^^^

... and it should be way more interesting than the movie.

 

[wmcovol]

@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.

I believe their initial motive was to get him to Ole Miss. That desire was very clear even in the movie. The movie really was never about him being a NFL player. It was about a white family taking in a black child & help him achieve success. Oher was a 5* recruit at Briarcrest so the likely hood of him getting a NFL shot was pretty strong. 6-5, 300lbs with agility isn’t normal.

I recall his recruitment. Most thought it was Tennessee without the Tuohy influence. I think that’s part of his resentment but he’s never said anything about that.

 

[wmcovol]

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.

Agree. He made his displeasure with the story in the movie known early on

 

[95 Vol Alum]

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.

I thought part of it was they were funneling money (proceeds) to tax sheltered vehicles they run. In other words, “hiding” the real money from him while claiming low $$ benefits to them personally. But maybe I’m misunderstanding what I think I saw.

 

[1 in 102 455]

I read the order putting the conservatorship in place. It states in the order itself that he has no known physical or psychological disabilities, which is such an odd thing IMO in an order creating a conservatorship.

An argument could be made that you should be able to get put in one if you want it to happen, but I would expect some legislation after all this to require more procedure before one is put down.

 

[Pappy]

Why did the Tuohy’s need to enrich themselves? They were already loaded.

it's 6 AM.....my uncle is probably already loaded!

 

[OrangeInKy]

If Other is lying, the lying will catch up with him. He wrote about knowing they were conservators in his book over a decade ago. He wrote about not being adopted by them and it being explained to him. I can’t stand that lady and her self exalting ways, but Oher is going to look horrible for this and lose a family in the process.neither side looks great and neither one wins in all of this.



"Oher writes that he believed he became a became a legal member of the Tuohy family the summer after he graduated from Briarcrest. “Since I was already over the age of 18 and considered an adult by the state of Tennessee, Sean and Leigh Anne would be named as my ‘legal conservators.’ They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as ‘adoptive parents,’ but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account. Honestly, I didn’t care what it was called. I was just happy that no one could argue that we weren’t legally what we already knew was real: We were a family.”

From: To Hear Michael Oher’s Side of ‘The Blind Side’ Story, Read His Memoirs - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Why is Oher bringing all this to light now?

 

[1 in 102 455]

Why is Oher bringing all this to light now?

My speculated theory of how this shook out: Oher was about to sue them anyway for him not receiving any of the residuals for the movie. My guess is now that he’s retired, he thought a little bit harder about not receiving that money. In due diligence to gather facts about his “adoption” to go into the complaint, the attorney discovered that he wasn’t actually adopted but placed into a conservatorship, and the plot thickened from there.

Either that above, or the Brittany Spears conservatorship publicity got him to thinking about his “adoption” since he was told the conservatorship was the same thing for adults (which didn’t jive from what he saw in the news). He eventually hired an attorney to figure out what happened, and figuring out the truth has fueled everything in the complaint about the movie.

Again, I’m just speculating. It’s a wild story, because it’s been sitting there as a public record all this time. Had somebody had the curiosity to look at his adoption papers, they could have sold a juicy story to a media outlet.

 

[n_huffhines]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/16/michael-lewis-blind-side-lawsuit/

 

[n_huffhines]

Why is Oher bringing all this to light now?

He found he wasn't adopted this past February

 

[Vols All Day]

Other is lying and the lying will catch up with him. He wrote about knowing they were conservators in his book over a decade ago. He wrote about not being adopted by them and it being explained to him. I can’t stand that lady and her self exalting ways, but Oher is going to look horrible for this and lose a family in the process.neither side looks great and neither one wins in all of this.

You are misquoting him. In the Washington post article today it stated: "in his 2011 memoir, I Beat The Odds, 'Oher wrote the Tuohys were 'named as my "legal conservators’" in the summer after he finished high school, describing a scene where he went to the courthouse with the couple to “celebrate.” He wrote that the Tuohy family “explained to me that it means pretty much the same thing as ‘adoptive parents,’ but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account.'"

Michael Lewis responds to Michael Oher’s claims about ‘Blind Side’ money - The Washington Post

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

He found he wasn't adopted this past February

The NFLPA has financial advisors for players and the NFL, itself, funds programs giving advice to players.

None of these trained individuals informed him of his legal family status which is the bedrock of any long-term financial plan? No one who has helped him over the years financially actually looked into his conservatorship and adoption status?

I call BS. Either BS or severe financial malpractice by his advisors.

 

[1 in 102 455]

The NFLPA has financial advisors for players and the NFL, itself, funds programs giving advice to players.

None of these trained individuals informed him of his legal family status which is the bedrock of any long-term financial plan? No one who has helped him over the years financially actually looked into his conservatorship and adoption status?

I call BS. Either BS or severe financial malpractice by his advisors.

Practically speaking, no person with all of their faculties should be in a conservatorship, and no one would have any reason to go looking for it. As alleged, the Tuohys used the conservatorship for what they needed it for, and then acted like it wasn’t in place. Unless Oher brought it to their attention, no financial advisor would have known about it.

As for Oher’s book quote, I’m guessing not too many lawyers read his book. The whole conservatorship thing is a huge red flag.

 

[hog88]

Practically speaking, no person with all of their faculties should be in a conservatorship, and no one would have any reason to go looking for it. As alleged, the Tuohys used the conservatorship for what they needed it for, and then acted like it wasn’t in place. Unless Oher brought it to their attention, no financial advisor would have known about it.

As for Oher’s book quote, I’m guessing not too many lawyers read his book. The whole conservatorship thing is a huge red flag.

At some point Oher, a college educated man has to take some responsibility in the conservatorship lasting as long as it did. I have a hard time thinking of him as a victim when he had the resources to end this days after he was drafted.

 

[stolitonic]

Practically speaking, no person with all of their faculties should be in a conservatorship, and no one would have any reason to go looking for it. As alleged, the Tuohys used the conservatorship for what they needed it for, and then acted like it wasn’t in place. Unless Oher brought it to their attention, no financial advisor would have known about it.

As for Oher’s book quote, I’m guessing not too many lawyers read his book. The whole conservatorship thing is a huge red flag.

My question is going to be when did the Tuoheys last leverage anything in the conservatorship?

At least reading between the lines a bit, this is the route they say they took so they could continue to support him while in college. As they were well known boosters, this basically made them paying his health insurance and sliding him a bit of spending cash above board, etc.

If that was the extent of it, I'm gonna have a real hard time throwing too many stones at the family. Basically have they shoehorned themselves into every deal he has made since turning pro or did they help him out when he needed it then kinda fade into the background ?

Now, if it comes out they were still leveraging the conservatorship last week or something then yeah, it is a completely different look.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Practically speaking, no person with all of their faculties should be in a conservatorship, and no one would have any reason to go looking for it. As alleged, the Tuohys used the conservatorship for what they needed it for, and then acted like it wasn’t in place. Unless Oher brought it to their attention, no financial advisor would have known about it.

As for Oher’s book quote, I’m guessing not too many lawyers read his book. The whole conservatorship thing is a huge red flag.

One of the first things to do when managing wealth is to decide who you want as your beneficiaries. If Oher thought he was adopted, his planning professional should've made sure so his birth parents, siblings, etc or the Tuohy's couldn't have a legal claim on his estate unless he wanted it that way. That means verifying the adoption or conservatorship, at least.

The basic first question is: who is your legal next of kin? With Oher that question seems a little complex and a certified financial planner should get that question nailed down first thing.

I call BS. You think the financial planners just believed him....."I'm adopted".... and never wanted verification? That's ridiculous.

 

[BowlBrother85]

At some point Oher, a college educated man has to take some responsibility in the conservatorship lasting as long as it did. I have a hard time thinking of him as a victim when he had the resources to end this days after he was drafted.

That is true. Michael Oher is 37 years old.

You actually made a good point ... A blind hog finds an acorn.

 

[Weezer]

At some point Oher, a college educated man has to take some responsibility in the conservatorship lasting as long as it did. I have a hard time thinking of him as a victim when he had the resources to end this days after he was drafted.

I thought he was unaware that he was in a conservatorship? He thought he had signed adoption papers, making him part of the family, when he was 18. But what he signed was conservatorship papers. Supposedly he only found out this year that the Tuohy's never adopted him.

 

[95 Vol Alum]

I thought he was unaware that he was in a conservatorship? He thought he had signed adoption papers, making him part of the family, when he was 18. But what he signed was conservatorship papers. Supposedly he only found out this year that the Tuohy's never adopted him.

I think that, more specifically, is that he didn’t understand that the conservatorship was not the same as a true adoption. He learned the distinction and its meaning on his financial future this year. If he is to be believed. Of course, the family’s lawyers claim otherwise.

 

[Weezer]

I think that, more specifically, is that he didn’t understand that the conservatorship was not the same as a true adoption. He learned the distinction and its meaning on his financial future this year. If he is to be believed. Of course, the family’s lawyers claim otherwise.

I think this whole stink makes them all look bad, Oher included.

 

[vollygirl]

I thought he was unaware that he was in a conservatorship? He thought he had signed adoption papers, making him part of the family, when he was 18. But what he signed was conservatorship papers. Supposedly he only found out this year that the Tuohy's never adopted him.

My impression is he thought it was called conservatorship since he was over 18.

Fun fact, in the state of Tennessee you can be adopted at any age. It's easier when you are over 18 because you are no longer a ward of the state.

 

[butchna]

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

She basically was warned by an insider to dump her stock…and she did. Shouldn’t have served a second.

 

[vollygirl]

One of the first things to do when managing wealth is to decide who you want as your beneficiaries. If Oher thought he was adopted, his planning professional should've made sure so his birth parents, siblings, etc or the Tuohy's couldn't have a legal claim on his estate unless he wanted it that way. That means verifying the adoption or conservatorship, at least.

The basic first question is: who is your legal next of kin? With Oher that question seems a little complex and a certified financial planner should get that question nailed down first thing.

I call BS. You think the financial planners just believed him....."I'm adopted".... and never wanted verification? That's ridiculous.

You can name whoever you want as your beneficiary, and it is nobody's business but yours who you pick. You know who would have been giving him financial advice? His "family's" advisors.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

You can name whoever you want as your beneficiary, and it is nobody's business but yours who you pick. You know who would have been giving him financial advice? His "family's" advisors.

The NFLPA and the NFL both offer financial advice and planning for players.

My issue is: professionals are GOING to ask and check out his adoption status. That's their job, to protect and direct his assets. His legal next of kin is important to know. Who might challenge his wishes is important to know.

His status was odd. A competent professional is going to want to sort this out when planning his estate, trusts, etc.

It's ridiculous to think they didn't take a long look at his kinship status because it's not routine. I call BS that he didn't know until recently about his status.