SJ Tuohy Jr. is opening up about the NFL alum's petition to terminate his conservatorship.
The Tuohy family is speaking out. In the wake of Michael Oher's lawsuit against Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, the couple's son, Sean Tuohy Jr., who goes by SJ, addressed the situation in an interview with Barstool Sports.
"I knew it was coming. It was a matter of time," SJ said of the lawsuit. ".... I was surprised it happened the way it did, but no one was caught off guard."
The downfall of Michael's relationship with the Tuohys, SJ said, wasn't "one moment."
"I think when he stopped playing and everything kind of settled down," SJ said of when Michael left the NFL in 2016. "... I think it built up over time for him."
@barstoolsports Michael Oher’s “Brother” SJ Tuohy Speaks on the lawsuit from Michael Oher’s Team 👀 @Dave Portnoy @Barstool Radio ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
Michael and the Tuohy family inspired the Sandra Bullock-led movie The Blind Side after they took in the football star when he was young. In his lawsuit, which ET obtained, Michael claims that Sean and Leigh Anne tricked him into making them his conservators less than three months after he turned 18 in 2004, allegedly telling him there was no consequential difference between being adopted and entering into a conservatorship, giving them legal authority to make business deals in his name.
Michael only learned in February that the documents he was asked to sign by the Tuohys, under the belief that it was part of the "adoption process," were actually conservatorship papers that would strip away his legal rights, the petition says.
"If he says he learned that in February, I find that hard to believe," SJ said. "... There were [texts] back in 2020, 2021, [saying,] 'If you guys give me this month I won't go public with things'... I think everyone learned in the past year about the conservatorship stuff because of Britney Spears, so maybe that's the case."
@barstoolsports SJ Tuohy on Michael Oher’s adoption vs conservatorship 👀 @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
When it comes to the reasons the Tuohys opted to go the conservatorship route rather than the adoption one, SJ speculated, "My guess is it started before he was 18 and the process finished after he turned 18 and that was a more clean, legal way of doing it."
That's not what Michael is claiming, though, as his lawsuit alleges that "at no point did the Tuohys inform Michael that they would have ultimate control of all his contracts, and as a result Michael did not understand that if the conservatorship was granted, he was signing away his right to contract for himself."
As for why the conservatorship has allegedly yet to be terminated, SJ was unsure.
"There's no money being held... [My dad told me], 'No, he can be out of [the conservatorship]. We'll let him out right now,'" SJ claimed. "If that was the reason for the suit it would be over in five minutes."
@barstoolsports Michael Oher’s Brother SJ Tuohy On His Family choosing Adoption vs Conservatorship regarding the Michael Oher Lawsuit 👀 @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
When it comes to Michael's allegation that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their biological children, Collins and SJ, millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side, SJ denied that, claiming that he's made just "60 to $70,000 over the course of the last four or five years."
All of that money, SJ claimed, "is very well documented."
@barstoolsports SJ Tuohy on how much money “The Blindside” Made 👀 @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
After Michael filed his lawsuit, some pointed out that it was timed to the release of his book, When Your Back's Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity. SJ was unsure if the two things were related.
"I don't know. Truthfully, I read the book. I was a purchaser of the book. I supported it. I think it was very positive. Not towards us, but in terms of someone who is going through it in life," he said. "I would never shy away from saying, 'You should read that.' There are good truths in there. I don't know, coincidence or not. It seems, obviously, tough timing."
@barstoolsports SJ Tuohy on when Michael Oher’s relationship went bad 👀 @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
Even so, SJ hopes to continue his relationship with Michael, whom he considers a brother.
"I loved Mike at 16. I love Mike now at 37. And I'll love him at 67. There's not going to be any legal dossier or thing that happens that's gonna make me go, 'Screw that guy.' It's not the case," he said. "... I understand the anger. I hope it'll play out. There's nothing to hide, which makes it easier, but it's going to stink publicly and a lot of people are going to have opinions on it."
@barstoolsports SJ Touhy On Michael Oher Possibly Being Upset With Hollywood And “The Blindside” Movie Sales 👀 @Barstool Radio @Dave Portnoy ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports
Through his petition, Michael is asking that the court end the Tuohys' conservatorship and issue an injunction barring them from using his name and likeness. It also seeks a full accounting of the money that the Tuohys earned using Michael's name, and to have the couple pay him his fair share of profits, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
RELATED CONTENT:
