Sean Tuohy has spoken out about former NFL participant Michael Oher’s authorized petition, which alleges that the Tuohy household didn’t legally undertake him however tricked him into making them his conservators earlier than making thousands and thousands from his falsified life story, which was depicted in The Blind Aspect.

“We’re devastated,” Tuohy instructed the Day by day Memphian. “It’s upsetting to assume we might earn cash off any of our youngsters. However we’re going to like Michael at 37 identical to we beloved him at 16.”

Michael Oher, the previous NFL participant whose story was depicted within the 2009 Academy Award-winning film The Blind Aspect, filed a petition Monday looking for to dissolve the conservatorship alleging Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy didn’t legally undertake him.

In accordance with the petition, filed on August 14 at Shelby County Probate Courtroom and obtained by PEOPLE, Oher alleges he unknowingly approved the couple to be his conservators in 2004 when he was 18 years outdated.

“Michael trusted the Tuohys and signed the place they instructed him to signal,” the authorized submitting, obtained by PEOPLE on Monday, claims. “What he signed, nonetheless, and unknown to Michael till after February 2023, weren’t adoption papers, or the equal of adoption papers.”

Grossing greater than $300 million on the field workplace, the sports activities drama movie starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy was primarily based on a ebook written by Michael Lewis and launched in 2006 titled The Blind Aspect: Evolution of a Sport.

Throughout an look on the New Orleans E book Pageant in March, Lewis stated he was a highschool classmate of Sean Tuohy.

Oher alleges that every of the 4 Tuohy members of the family — Sean, Leigh Anne and their two youngsters — made $250,000 outright from the film, in line with the petition, along with 2.5% in residuals. 

Sean Tuohy disputed that. “We have been by no means supplied cash; we by no means requested for cash. My cash is well-documented; you may search for how a lot I offered my firm for,” stated the 63-year-old, who has labored as a sports activities commentator whereas additionally proudly owning a string of fast-food franchises.

“The very last thing I wanted was 40 grand from a film,” Tuohy added. “I’ll say it’s upsetting that folks would assume I might need to earn cash off any of my youngsters.”

Tuohy insisted the conservatorship that prompted the submitting of Monday’s petition was unrelated to the film. Somewhat, it was a technique to appease the NCAA, the nonprofit group that regulates pupil athletics, when it appeared Oher was prone to play soccer on the College of Mississippi.

Tuohy was an All-American level guard on the Southern college often called “Ole Miss” and an energetic supporter of the college. As such, he would qualify as a “booster” underneath NCAA guidelines. 

“Michael was clearly residing with us for a very long time, and the NCAA didn’t like that,” Tuohy instructed the Day by day Memphian. “They stated the one manner Michael might go to Ole Miss was if he was really a part of the household. I sat Michael down and instructed him, ‘If you happen to’re planning to go to Ole Miss — and even contemplating Ole Miss — we expect it’s important to be a part of the household. This might try this, legally.’ We contacted attorneys who had instructed us that we couldn’t undertake over the age of 18; the one factor we might do was to have a conservatorship. We have been so involved it was on the up-and-up that we made certain the organic mom got here to court docket.”

Tuohy stated that whereas he and his household had remained shut with Oher following the movie’s launch in 2009, he started to note a ways “possibly a yr and a half in the past.”

“It’s upsetting, however it’s life, what are you going to do? Sure individuals will consider us and sure individuals received’t,” Tuohy stated. “No query, the allegations are insulting, however, look, it’s a loopy world. You’ve obtained to dwell in it. It’s clearly upset everyone.”

“It’s exhausting as a result of it’s important to defend your self, however no matter he desires, we’ll do. We’re not on this for something apart from no matter he desires. If he’d have stated, ‘I don’t need to be a part of the household anymore,’ we’d have been very upset, however we completely would have achieved it,” he continued.

When requested whether or not the Tuohys can be prepared to finish their conservatorship of 37-year-old Oher, Tuohy responded, “I need no matter Michael desires.”

Oher’s legal professional J. Gerard Stranch IV instructed ESPN that the Tremendous Bowl champion just lately realized that he was the one member of the household not receiving royalty checks, and employed Stranch to start wanting into the scenario. That led the legal professional to uncover the conservatorship papers earlier this yr that confirmed Oher was allegedly by no means formally adopted by the Tuohy household.

“Mike did not develop up with a steady household life. When the Tuohy household instructed Mike they beloved him and needed to undertake him, it crammed a void that had been with him his complete life,” Stranch instructed ESPN. “Discovering that he wasn’t really adopted devastated Mike and wounded him deeply.”