They probably win like 2 more games if they had him last year
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GatorMike
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EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
So Defector got to the heart of why I can't buy the Tuohys story. From The Tuohy Family’s Side Of The Story Has A Giant Hole At The Center:
(Michael) Lewis may well be telling the truth, as far as he knows it, but a he-said-she-said fight over dollar amounts misses the central question: Was a conservatorship truly necessary, as the Tuohys portrayed it to Oher? As Oher detailed in his 2011 memoir, I Beat the Odds, the conservatorship was explained to him as "pretty much the same thing" as adoption—it isn't—and the Tuohys told him it was necessitated by his age at the time (18, legally an adult). That's also false: Adult adoption is legal and available in Tennessee. That isn't all that's odd about the arrangement.
They then cite the Washington Post's story:
Tennessee law reserves conservatorships for people with mental or physical disabilities who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, said Barbara Moss, an attorney in the state who is experienced in conservatorships.
“You have to have a doctor say you have a mental or physical disability in whole or in part,” Moss said. From an outside legal perspective, she said, the arrangement with Oher and the Tuohys was “bizarre.” “I’ve never seen something like that happen,” she said. “From what I know of Michael Oher … he wouldn’t have qualified.”
(Michael) Lewis may well be telling the truth, as far as he knows it, but a he-said-she-said fight over dollar amounts misses the central question: Was a conservatorship truly necessary, as the Tuohys portrayed it to Oher? As Oher detailed in his 2011 memoir, I Beat the Odds, the conservatorship was explained to him as "pretty much the same thing" as adoption—it isn't—and the Tuohys told him it was necessitated by his age at the time (18, legally an adult). That's also false: Adult adoption is legal and available in Tennessee. That isn't all that's odd about the arrangement.
They then cite the Washington Post's story:
Tennessee law reserves conservatorships for people with mental or physical disabilities who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, said Barbara Moss, an attorney in the state who is experienced in conservatorships.
“You have to have a doctor say you have a mental or physical disability in whole or in part,” Moss said. From an outside legal perspective, she said, the arrangement with Oher and the Tuohys was “bizarre.” “I’ve never seen something like that happen,” she said. “From what I know of Michael Oher … he wouldn’t have qualified.”
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
If that's the reason they cite for the conservatorship....I mean, that's so much worse!
Much worse than we ever knew. I want to see the filings and response from the Tuohy's. I'm curious to see if they tip their hand with how they plan to argue their case.
I still need an answer as to why this is all of a sudden becoming an issue when Michael Oher went through a lengthy NFL career and is now 37 years old.
They are talking about it now on the radio. Cancelling the Titans' joint practices probably has very little to do with the Bolden situation. I believe they said those were called off after they knew Bolden was in the clear. Maybe the team in general is banged up and Bill realized we really don't need a 2nd straight week of joint practices ahead of a preseason game.
KrejciMVP
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not a lot of game reps for Mac in preparation to face the defending champs. Not like he couldn't use the game action
If true, he should be suing the doctor too. It's not like the family diagnosed him.
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
Might be as simple as learning about a lot of things in the course of doing other legal filings. He got married in November. They say they found out about the conservatorship in February. Wouldn't shock me if it's that simple.
I mean, it's not like professional athletes who trust their family with this stuff never get burned by it. He might have merely been operating all these years in good faith and trust and only recently learned.had it explained to him what really happened.
BigBadBruins7708
Registered User
Even with all that, Oher and his advisors dropped the ball. All the money spent on lawyers/agents/etc and we're to believe that no one told him the financial impact of the conservatorship and advised him to petition to end it? I cant suspend disbelief that much.
Not to mention, the Tuohys are rich, like 9 figures rich. What benefit is there for them to risk it to steal a couple million bucks from Oher?
I just think it's almost impossible to believe he only recently realized there was a conservatorship in place. Even then I am assuming you can easily petition to have it ended behind the scenes. It's not as if the family is fighting to keep it in place. I don't see what benefit there is to having this play out in the public when things Oher said/wrote are coming back to bite him. Drawing a conclusion that he is doing this as a result of some potential financial trouble seems reasonable to me. It might not be the case but that's where this story is leading me.
Lobster57
Registered User
He was 18 when the conservatorship started. 18 years olds are, very often, not exactly worldy and wise.
To the second point, do you know many rich folk who don't want more money? Enough is rarely enough
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
:checks the entire human history of rich people behavior:
....You're not gonna believe this...
I think the point would be he's 37 years old. We are to believe he only found out about this recently? Highly, highly unlikely.
Also, it would seem a little strange to me if this was the only kid this family ever tried to "groom" towards a big payday. They had this idea once and only once? Plus, how many big time college recruits flame out at the collegiate level nevermind at the NFL level? Do we even know how much money they made off of him? Did they push for the book/movie or were they approached about it?
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
My bet is whatever he thought was in place, by whatever name, was very different from what it actually is. And that for a very long time he trusted the people he believe were his family and had his best interests at heart so he didn't look into it or question it.
It's all gonna come out one way or another. The legal documents exist just like the pay stubs do.
McGarnagle
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The whole Britney situation from last year brought conservatorship into the spotlight. Oher or his fiancee probably saw all the fuss about that and then thought "aren't you on a conservatorship? Maybe we should look more closely at that"
red devil
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Reading the espn article about the lawsuit from Oher this paragraph to me is the one that it makes look like Oher understood he was under a conservatorship. He thought it was similar to adoption where he was part of their family but in legal terms it doesn't have the same meaning.
"The lie of Michael's adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher," the legal filing says. "Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys."
"The lie of Michael's adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher," the legal filing says. "Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys."
McGarnagle
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The Tuohys definitely took advantage of Oher and their taking him in was more about Sean Tuohy securing a recruit for Ole Miss than about the altruism. They also didn't distribute the proceeds from the Blind Side fairly it seems. But if the book is to be believed he had learning disabilities that made him borderline ineligible for high school ball, much less NCAA. If he doesn't have a rich booster family greasing the wheels for him, would he even have found his way to a power conference college program? Etc. Doesn't take the Tuohys off the hook, but it just happens that people use each other.
It makes me think of the end of The Color of Money -
Tom Cruise: You used us! You used me!
Paul Newman: Yes I did. But you're in Atlantic City now with the big boys. You're not back there in the stockroom playing with baby dolls. Think about it, it's a wash.
It makes me think of the end of The Color of Money -
Tom Cruise: You used us! You used me!
Paul Newman: Yes I did. But you're in Atlantic City now with the big boys. You're not back there in the stockroom playing with baby dolls. Think about it, it's a wash.
OK? So end the conservatorship then and everyone moves on with their lives. The family isn't fighting to keep it in place are they?
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
Considering the Tuohys son says he understands why Mike's upset there's probably some actual money issues to resolve.
Didn't the author of the book say Oher declined royalty checks? Not sure if Oher has disputed that or not. I will reiterate though that plenty of highly touted recruits flameout in college and most don't go on to the NFL and make big bucks. So I am not entirely sure what was guaranteed when they took this kid into their lives. So they helped get the kid a scholarship to an SEC football program? That seems like a pretty good deal for Michael Oher as it help set him up for path to the NFL and a lucrative career.
That's fair, I am willing to wait to see official numbers on that and hope he gets what is rightfully his. The timing just seems very odd to me. If this was some bombshell about how the family somehow swindled him out of millions of dollars from his NFL earnings that would make more sense to me than royalty checks all of a sudden becoming an issue.
EverettMike
FIRE DON SWEENEY INTO THE SUN
Considering how personal all of this inherently is it might end up being over very little actual money because it's not really about money at all. Family stuff can simmer for decades before boiling over, you know?
No matter the truth or the outcome, it's all very sad.
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