Southeast
‘Blind Side’ author shocked Michael Oher filed lawsuit against family, reveals problem he has with it
Michael Lewis, the author of “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” which chronicled the upbringing of NFL lineman Michael Oher, said the Super Bowl champion’s lawsuit against the family who took the player in was “shocking” to him.
Lewis talked again about Oher’s lawsuit against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and the player’s fight to end the conservatorship and recoup money he alleged he is owed from the movie.
“Michael Oher accused the Tuohys of stealing his movie money. It’s shocking to me that he did that, because I know it’s not true,” Lewis said in an interview with GQ Magazine published Thursday. “And it’s heartbreaking because I did move into Michael’s life. I spent lots of time with him, and he felt loved and he loved them. And I don’t know what happened.
“These aren’t novels. The people continue to live. And so that’s the story I wrote, and it feels like it’s embalmed and bottled and captured in time. It’s what happened. And Michael Oher was really happy with it. He didn’t like the movie, but the movie is different than the book.”
Lewis said he did not have any problem with Oher being upset with how he was portrayed in the film, which garnered a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars and Sandra Bullock a Best Actress award for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
“I have a problem with him accusing people of stealing money from him when all they did was give him money,” Lewis said. “He’s really upended these people’s lives who really never did anything but mean him well and love him and take care of him. And I just felt like they needed defending because nobody else was doing it.”
Lewis added that remarks about whether Oher is suffering from a brain injury is something he “probably shouldn’t have said.”
A rep for Oher did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In Tennessee last month, Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes said she was terminating the conservatorship between Oher and the Tuohys. A conservatorship in Tennessee is often used when there is a medical condition or disability, per The Associated Press. Gomes said she has never seen a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who is not disabled.
While Gomes is ending the conservatorship agreement, the judge is not dismissing the case.
In August, Oher alleged in a petition filed in a Tennessee court that he was never legally adopted by the Tuohy family, but rather tricked into a conservatorship that solely benefited the family.
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“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 document read.
“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 Tuohy family invited Oher to live with them in 2004. The filing alleges that soon after moving in, the family presented him with the conservatorship, which he understood as a form of legal adoption.
Oher’s petition sought to end the conservatorship and bar them from using his name and likeness. It also sought to have Oher receive a share of profits based on the earnings the family purportedly made off his name.
The petition also alleged that while the Tuohys benefited significantly from “The Blind Side,” Oher did not.
In September, Tuohys’ lawyers denied in court documents that they used a legal agreement between them and Oher to get rich at his expense and lied about intending to adopt him.
MICHAEL OHER SAYS ‘THE BLIND SIDE’ DIDN’T PORTRAY WORK ETHIC PRIOR TO JOINING TUOHY FAMILY
The family said they loved Oher like a son and provided him with food, shelter, clothing and cars while he lived with them. They denied saying they intended to legally adopt him.
The Tuohys’ filing said Oher did refer to Sean and Leigh Anne as “mom” and “dad” while they referred to Oher as their son. They also acknowledged that other websites showed them referring to Oher as an adoptive son, but said the term was used “in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication.”
The family said the conservatorship was the tool chosen to comply with NCAA rules that would have kept Oher from attending Ole Miss, the university where Sean Tuohy played basketball. The filing said the NCAA “made it clear that he could attend Ole Miss if he was part of the Tuohy family in some fashion.”
The Tuohys added that Oher lied about finding out that he was not adopted in February and pointed to the former NFL player’s 2011 book “I Beat the Odds,” which indicated he was aware the Tuohys were appointed as conservators rather than adoptive parents.
Oher was selected with the 23rd pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, where he played his first five NFL seasons. Oher went on to play for two more teams in his eight-year career.
Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Federal judge strikes down Biden admin's Title IX rewrite
A federal judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as “gender identity,” striking down the change nationwide.
The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday.
“Another massive win for TN and the country!” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a post on X. “This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin’s radical new Title IX rule nationwide.
“The court’s order is resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., released a statement on the ruling.
“It is clear the Biden-Harris administration completely lost its way on Title IX. They betrayed the original intent of Title IX by removing longstanding protections that ensured fairness for women and girls. Good to see this harmful regulation overturned,” he said. “With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom.”
The ruling came months after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that would have included protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX.
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The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions.”
The rule took effect Aug. 1, and, for the first time, the law stated that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity.
It led to more than two dozen attorneys general suing over the rule, arguing it would conflict with some of their state laws that block transgender students from participating in women’s sports.
“When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female,” the court’s opinion read. “As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.
“While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes.”
Kristen Waggoner, president, CEO and general Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement the ruling was a “colossal win for women and girls” in the U.S.
“The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights,” she added. “With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients.
“This ruling provides enormous relief for students across the country, including our client who has already suffered harassment by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. The U.S. Supreme Court can further protect girls like our client by granting cases brought by the ACLU against West Virginia and Idaho laws that protect women’s sports.”
The decision came as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is set to push the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to the Senate Floor.
A procedural vote on it will happen on Friday.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
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Southeast
Laken Riley Act roils NJ governor’s race as 2 Dems skip roll: ‘The more someone campaigns the less they vote'
Two Democrats in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy did not cast votes this week in Congress on the Laken Riley Act, leading them to be lambasted by gubernatorial candidates from both parties.
The House Clerk’s office recorded Reps. Mikie Sherrill of Essex and Josh Gottheimer of Bergen County recorded as “not voting” on the landmark bill, which would require illegal immigrants convicted of theft-related crimes be detained by municipal and state authorities.
The bill takes its name from a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia who had been previously arrested and released on lesser charges.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop exclaimed, “This is cowardly,” in an X post.
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“We lose elections when we don’t have any core convictions… when we can’t explain why we have a view and why we believe in it. Hiding is not an answer that wins elections,” the Democrat said.
“Mikie and Josh are the same again – If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor?” Fulop added.
Meanwhile, former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli slammed the two lawmakers from their right.
“Shame on [Josh and Mikie] for gutlessly ducking a vote on the Laken Riley Act today,” said Ciattarelli.
On X, Ciattarelli said Riley “fought till her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base.”
Ciattarelli ran against Murphy in 2021 and nearly defeated him by Garden State standards, losing by less than three points. In November, President-elect Trump only lost the state by four points, leading the GOP to signal their optimism about flipping Trenton red this fall.
When the bill last came up for a vote, Gottheimer voted “yea,” and a spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would have supported the bill this week if he had voted.
New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen – Reps. Christopher Smith, Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. – all voted for the Laken Riley Act.
Democratic Reps. Nellie Pou, Frank Pallone, Herbert Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross and Rob Menendez Jr. all voted against it.
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Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – who is not running for governor – torched the pair on Wednesday with a quip:
“The Road to Drumthwacket is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision,” she said, referring to the historic governor’s mansion near Princeton.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a lawmaker’s first responsibility is to their constituents, not their next campaign.
“I think you have to have campaign activities come secondary to your responsibility,” Bramnick said when asked about Gottheimer’s and Sherrill’s non-votes.
“The key question is – if you’re going to run – campaign activities must be secondary to your voting,” adding that systemically it seems “the more [someone] campaigns the less they vote.”
Bramnick, who is also an attorney in Plainfield, added that he couldn’t assume what was on the two Democrats’ minds in terms of their vote, but that immigration is a hot issue and often difficult to navigate.
With the Laken Riley Act scoring 48 Democratic “yea’s,” Bramnick said immigration is a bipartisan issue.
If elected governor, he said he would “follow the law” when asked how he would approach President-elect Trump or border czar-designate Tom Homan.
“Unfortunately, the Congress hasn’t done anything to [create] a path to citizenship for people who may have an opportunity to stay here,” he said, discussing those who have lived in the U.S. for many years as otherwise law-abiding members of their communities.
“If America doesn’t like the law, change it, but state-by-state shouldn’t change the law based on how they feel on the issue.”
Sherrill and Gottheimer did not immediately respond to inquiries made via their campaigns.
Another Democrat in the race, Ras Baraka – mayor of the state’s largest city, Newark – also did not respond.
Baraka, however, separately indicated he would have voted against the Laken Riley Act if he were in Congress.
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Southeast
Apalachee High School student arrested for allegedly bringing gun to campus months after deadly mass shooting
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said a 14-year-old student was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly brought a gun to Apalachee High School, the same Georgia school where two students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in September.
At approximately 2:02 p.m., school resource officers arrested the student without incident.
“The student was cooperative and compliant when encountered by law enforcement officers, and there have been no reports of the student threatening anyone with the gun,” the sheriff’s office said.
The boy, who was not named due to his age, has since been transported to a youth detention center.
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The boy was charged with theft, being a minor in possession of a gun and possessing a weapon on school grounds.
Officials didn’t say what type of gun was seized or how the child acquired the gun.
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In response to the incident, the Barrow County School System canceled Thursday’s classes at the high school and called for a meeting to discuss immediate safety enhancement options.
“We understand this brings up many different feelings in each of us,” the school system said. “We will update you all following the board meeting tomorrow with any changes regarding school procedures.”
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On Sept. 4, 14-year-old student Colt Gray allegedly opened fire at Apalachee High School, killing two teachers and two students.
Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were killed.
Gray has since been indicted on 55 counts as an adult, including 25 counts of aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole or life with the possibility of parole if convicted.
His father, Colin Gray, who was arrested and charged with buying the semiautomatic AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting and giving it to Colt for Christmas, is facing 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He has also pleaded not guilty.
Georgia is one of 42 states in the U.S. that holds parents criminally responsible for their children.
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