MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Michael Oher's high school football coach reportedly spoke about the fight between the NFL star and the Tuohy family.
Oher, 37, reportedly alleged that Sean Tuohy and his wife, Leigh Anne, tricked him into a conservatorship and lied about his adoption when he was 18 in a lawsuit filed on Monday, August 14.
Hugh Freeze, the head coach at Auburn and Oher's coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, referred to the legal drama as "sad," per ET.
Who is Hugh Freeze?
Freeze, who is the head coach at Auburn University, was born on September 27, 1969. He was the high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he coached Greg Hardy and Oher.
From 2008 to 2009, he led the football program at Lambuth University. He has also handled the programs at Arkansas State University, Ole Miss and Liberty University. From 2018 to 2022, he served as the head coach at Liberty University.
What did Hugh Freeze say about Michael Oher?
"I think it's sad. I certainly don't claim to understand all the ins and outs of adoption, conservatory, all of that. I know what I witnessed," Freeze said, adding, "I witnessed a family that totally took in a young man and I think without that, there is no story."
Freeze defended the Tuohys, calling their handling of the situation while Oher was in high school "admirable," despite the fact that he claimed he is not aware of the specifics surrounding the lawsuit.
Freeze said, "I know this: If Michael called Sean right now and said let's work this thing out, Sean and Leigh Anne would be there in a hurry to hug his neck and tell him he's loved."
Freeze further stated, "I hope he feels that. Until you walk in people's shoes, I don't claim to have all the answers to anything, but I think whatever happens will happen. The facts will come out. But I love both sides of it."
How much did the Tuohy family earn from 'The Blind Side'?
According to Oher's court filings in the Shelby County probate court, the Tuohys used their position as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their children, Collins and Sean Jr, millions in royalties from 'The Blind Side', which made more than $330M.
According to the petition, all four Tuohys received $225,000 for the movie as well as 2.5% of its earnings.
What did Michael Oher say about the Tuohy family?
Oher alleged that he "at no time willingly or knowingly" signed the said contract, which gave away the "perpetual, unconditional, and exclusive" rights to his name, likeness, voice, appearance, personality, incidents, situations and events taken from his life sans payment.
The petition asserted that although the document appears to bear his signature, "nobody ever presented this document to him with any explanation."
A lawyer for the couple claimed that the family was in shock following the lawsuit. The Tuohy family attorney, Steve Farese, Sr, claimed the couple were treating the situation "like a death in the family."
