Michael Oher criticized ‘The Blind Side’
Michael Oher was born in Memphis, Tennessee on May 28, 1986.
Oher got on the Blind Side in 2009, starring alongside, Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, and Tim McGraw.
Michael’s childhood was far from excellent as he grew up in a family of 12 kids, where his mother struggled with drugs while his father was in and out of prison.
He wrote in his 2011 book I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to the Blind Side, and Beyond, “When my mother was off drugs and working, she would remember to buy groceries, and there would be a mad scramble to grab whatever you could before anyone else got to it.”
His parents had their problems to worry about instead of taking care of the children; hence Michael grew up so fast and was ready to escape.
Oher said in an interview with 20/20, “She wasn’t really around too much. I took care of myself most of the time.”
As Oher finished first grade, came for him and his siblings and they have moved away from their mother’s home.
Social workers cared for his mental state and thought he would become an angry young man, so he was sent to an adolescent unit of St. Joseph Hospital at 10.
Oher wrote in his biography, “I wasn’t mad, I was sad, I was a heartbroken little kid who was hurt and confused about everything that was going on around me.”
He didn’t want to stay in the hospital and ran back to his mother. They moved to Hurt Village when he was 11.
Oher wanted a better life for himself and decided to work hard.
“Even if it meant working three jobs, at McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Taco Bell, I wasn’t going to be part of my environment.”
Oher started developing his athleticism and ended up taking interest in football.
In 2003, Oher met Leigh Anne Tuohy, the woman who turned out to be his savior. She adopted him and treated him like his own.
“They didn’t treat me like I was fragile or with curiosity like I was a strange creature they had to figure out before we could get close,” he wrote in his memoir. “I was able to understand what I’d suspected, that a life like mine in childhood wasn’t normal, and it wasn’t okay.”
In 2009, the Blind Side was premiered and it seems like Michaelwasn’t happy with the movie from start. He’s someone who has done sports his whole life and feels like how the movie portrayed him wasn’t correct at all.
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” Oher said. “People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don’t see the skills and the kind of player I am. That’s why I get downgraded so much, because of something off the field.
He continued: “This stuff, calling me a bust, and people saying if I can play or not … that has nothing to do with football. It’s something else off the field. That’s why I don’t like that movie.”
Actor Quinton Aaron answered him saying, “You gotta at some point notice the amount of people’s lives this movie has touched in a positive, encouraging, and inspiring manner,” he explained. “At the end of the day, bro, you are a millionaire, you’re famous, you are a Super Bowl Champ, you have an amazing family that loves you, friends, fans, and teammates.”
“Who gives a damn about what people say or think who wanna criticize your game, bro, that shouldn’t matter. Somebody is always going to have something to say that you’re not going to like,” he added. “So what, you had a couple of bad seasons. I believe you’ve got a lot more fuel in the tank, so let’s start hashing out some good ones and forget what people think about you. I got your back, brother God Bless!”
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