'The Blind Side' Subject Michael Oher's Been Estranged From Tuohys for a Decade, Says Family's Lawyer

The Tuohy family's attorney spoke amid Oher's lawsuit against the family in a press conference.

Michael Oher, the inspiration behind The Blind Side, has been estranged from the Tuohys for about a decade now, according to attorneys for the Tuohys.

Attorneys Randall Fishman and Steven Farese held a news conference Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee to speak on behalf of the Tuohys amid Oher's lawsuit claiming in Tennessee court that Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy lied about adopting him and tricked him into making them his conservators shortly after he turned 18.

When asked if Oher has been part of the Tuohy family or had any close contact with the Tuohys, Farese said "no."

"He's been estranged probably since for the last 10 years," Farese added, "and becoming more and more vocal and more and more threatening."

Oher also alleged that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their biological children -- Collins Tuohy and Sean Tuohy Jr. -- millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side, which earned more than $330 million and starred Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Tim McGraw, Lily Collins and Kathy Bates. The petition alleged that all four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 for the film plus 2.5 percent of the film's proceeds.

Fishman, however, insists that the total amount paid out to the Tuohys and Oher since the release of The Blind Side is significantly less, claiming that it's actually to the tune of approximately $100,000 per person.

"Well, each member of the family has received the same amount of money," Fishman said. "So, imagine a pie divided by five, OK? We estimate each person received $100,000."

As for Oher's claims that he "shall not be allowed to enter into any contracts or bind himself without the direct approval of his conservators," Fishman said that's "patently false."

"He's negotiated his own contract with the NFL. He's hired and fired his agents," Fishman claimed. "The Tuohys have never had to sign off on any of that. He's done that all himself."

Fishman doubled down, saying that the sole reason behind the conservatorship was to avoid the NCAA's wrath and putting Oher's NCAA eligibility at risk.

"Remember, this conservatorship was set up for the purpose I indicated earlier, so that if [Oher] chose to go to Ole Miss there would not be an issue about Sean being a booster," Fishman said. "And that was the sole reason. And after that got done, nobody really gave a damn. So, typically, there might well be a requirement of a conservator-executed contract. OK? But, in this case, [Oher] executed his own and nobody ever objected to it, certainly the Tuohys didn't object to it. They wanted no part of his money. They would have done anything to help him had he needed them to, but he negotiated his own deals and made his own money. And I think he made $34-$35 million playing right tackle."

If Oher, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens and played eight seasons in the NFL, wants an accounting done of the financial dealings for The Blind Side, Fishman said that would be a "simple process" the family would oblige. And the same would go to end the conservatorship.

In a lengthy statement to ET, the Tuohys other attorney, Marty Singer, said "Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at any time in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way."

Just days after filing his lawsuit, Oher publicly spoke out about the ordeal in a statement to ET.

"I am disheartened by the revelation shared in the lawsuit today," Oher told ET through his rep. "This is a difficult situation for my family and me. I want to ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time. For now, I will let the lawsuit speak for itself and will offer no further comment."

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