I think that background is relevant Melissa, thanks for sharing it. It’s too easy to dismiss the Tuohys as nothing but arch racists, but Melissa’s background, the film and book, and now these new revelations are consistent in hi lighting the condescension and exploitation at work here.
What is new to me is the revel that the Tuohys lied about adopting him (and whatever they are saying now, they did lie about this) and the motivation for conserving him, which was to side step NCAA recruiting rules. The NYT story linked below with excerpt does a good job of explaining this. I don’t blame Oher for wanting a strict accounting of all the financial transactions involved, but so far we have no evidence that they used their conservator powers to cheat him out of NFL money. They did get paid $350K or so for the movie (as did book author Lewis, who seems to feel the real scandal is that he and the Tuohys did not get paid enough for the film rights) while Oher got nothing. But why conserve him instead of adopt? Even though he was 18 he could still have been adopted, and there was never a claim that Oher had a disabling physical or mental disorder, usually a prerequisite for conservatorship, though the judge who granted it now denies a disorder is required. I conclude the Tuohys were motivated to illegally steer a blue chip football prospect to Ole Miss, where they were huge boosters. Also that they saw a chance to profit, not so much from the film rights, but from the fame this conveyed, which they exploited to help their restaurant and public speaking businesses. They conserved instead of adopting to protect their own wealth from Oher, not to protect Oher from himself or others. They told Oher they were adopting him to take advantage of his need to feel like a part of a stable, loving and affluent family, and he is understandably hurt and angry upon finally learning the truth, which is that these rich white folk did not really make him part of their family, but used and exploited him for their own purposes and benefits, while ensuring he had no claim on their wealth later through inheritance. Because the Tuohys were not Oher’s parents, providing support to him could have been seen as breaking N.C.A.A. rules against providing benefits to recruits. As significant donors to the University of Mississippi, one of the colleges recruiting Oher, the Tuohys might subject themselves and the school to penalties in case of a violation. So they put together a plan. They asked a court to give them wide authority over Oher’s affairs, including power of attorney, control of his medical decisions and the right to approve financial contracts on his behalf. The arrangement, they believed, would satisfy the N.C.A.A. Oher, then 18 and legally an adult, agreed to it. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/sports/football/blind-side-michael-oher-tuohy.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Sent from Gmail Mobile On Sun, 20 Aug 2023 at 7:08 PM Melissa P <[email protected]> wrote: > A bit of background that's never included in the story: > > Not relevant, I assume. > > Briarcrest Baptist High School -- the school in the film -- was > established when busing started in Memphis -- as a place for White students > to flee public schools. White teachers, as well as White students, left > the public schools to avoid desegregation. > > The turmoil occurred during my final years of high school, and I remember > it well. > > So, I can't watch the movie and not think of that time when Briarcrest > became the option for the younger siblings of my friends. (I graduated two > years before the changes took place.) > > A few years ago, I had lunch with one of my classmates whose husband had > applied to be an assistant golf coach at the school; he was turned down > because he wasn't the right kind of Christian. > > I think it's an important part of the school's history -- that should > never be ignored or forgotten -- but obviously the movie's producers didn't > see it that way. > > On Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 11:30 AM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> If you want to, it's on Hulu. >> >> Mark Jeffries >> [email protected] >> >> >> On Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 7:36 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hopefully this will drive many to go back and watch the film and realize >>> just how horrid it is… >>> >>> On Thu, 17 Aug 2023 at 2:10 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> All of the stories right now are from lawyers saying their side is all >>>> innocence and the other side is pure evil. Give it enough time (without >>>> breathless headlines) and the two sides will settle for an undisclosed >>>> amount or the case will continue to discovery where all sorts of details >>>> will come out. >>>> >>>> Oher played to a second contract in the NFL which means he earned >>>> millions. There has been nothing reported about that money being subject to >>>> the conservatorship and it should dwarf the amount he is suing the Tuoheys >>>> for. If there’s a story here, that’s it. >>>> >>>> On Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 4:39 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> The author of the book the Bullock film was based on, weighs in... >>>>> Michael Lewis told the WaPo 20th paid $250k for the rights, split between >>>>> Lewis and the family, but Oher started turning down the checks written to >>>>> him, and Lewis suspected the money was being put in a trust fund for >>>>> Oher... *and* Oher reportedly signed away his rights to 20th, who never >>>>> paid him, and ultimately dropped the film (Warners released it later)... >>>>> >>>>> https://variety.com/2023/film/news/the-blind-side-author-michael-oher-allegations-defends-tuohy-family-1235698812/ >>>>> (link) >>>>> B >>>>> >>>>> Moi, Aug 17th: >>>>> >>>>> Maybe Oher is forgetful (football can do that to a guy)... TMZ says he >>>>> was aware of the conservatorship in 2011, when he was interviewed for a >>>>> biography... >>>>> >>>>> https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/17/michael-oher-conservatorship-tuohy-book-the-blind-side/ >>>>> <https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/17/michael-oher-conservatorship-tuohy-book-the-blind-side/?adid=social-tws&s=09&fbclid=IwAR3zFNee9SjjvmPHdJUUSMudNjeHwDx3mp-DkDDJtFDX4M0bo-ni0K1FRUY> >>>>> (link) >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/6392c1b5-3c2b-41af-9681-b826e388f843n%40googlegroups.com >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/6392c1b5-3c2b-41af-9681-b826e388f843n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiH5pffM762ANHm-7kupX4c6Po01s4zyR6DYjRCx4AH5LQ%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiH5pffM762ANHm-7kupX4c6Po01s4zyR6DYjRCx4AH5LQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2B0E_pF8zUZfwCV1qnbLWGPdgerJgcSTkmkJzYSe18Kpg%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2B0E_pF8zUZfwCV1qnbLWGPdgerJgcSTkmkJzYSe18Kpg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJ_uKi8R0jVrYEmfU53WLz3GLC7QTZawRnXXhSdSBwkhKQVbSQ%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJ_uKi8R0jVrYEmfU53WLz3GLC7QTZawRnXXhSdSBwkhKQVbSQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPz6kLNd1O_yMnfEAofxkpmKPOq%3DZOqRB4TTsd%2BucQ52_g%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPz6kLNd1O_yMnfEAofxkpmKPOq%3DZOqRB4TTsd%2BucQ52_g%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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