Michael Oher says adoption at heart of The Blind Side was a lie

Former NFL star says he was never adopted by Tuohy family.

BLINDSIDED: Michael Oher, the former NFL tackle known for the movie “The Blind Side,” filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago. Picture: AP Photo/Nick Wass, File

Michael Oher, the former NFL player who was the subject of the tale of adoption and athletic triumph documented in The Blind Side, has alleged that the story at the heart of the popular book and movie was a lie.

The 2009 movie, based on a book by Michael Lewis, tells the story of how Oher, who is black, grew up in abject poverty before being adopted by a rich white family and eventually making his way to the NFL, where he won a championship. Yet in court documents filed in Tennessee on Monday, Oher claims Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy did not adopt him – but instead deceived him into making them his conservators just after his 18th birthday.