UL-Monroe expected to hire son of ‘The Blind Side’ family as AD

The University of Louisiana-Monroe is expected to hire SJ Tuohy, son of the family that inspired the hit movie ‘The Blind Side,’ as their next athletic director, The Athletic and Yahoo Sports reported.

Tuohy is currently the deputy athletic director at Oral Roberts University. Previously, he served as the executive director of the University of Central Florida’s official NIL collective. Throughout his career, he has also held positions as the assistant athletic director and director of football operations at Liberty University, as well as the associate director of football operations and player personnel at the University of Arkansas.

Tuohy and his family are known for their relationship with former Ole Miss and NFL football player Michael Oher, who was the subject of Michael Lewis’ 2006 book, ‘The Blind Side’, which was adapted into a movie in 2009. In 2023, Oher filed a lawsuit against Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy, alleging that they never adopted him but instead created a conservatorship that gave them legal authority over his name and likeness. Oher also claimed that he was not compensated for the movie, while the Tuohys’ other children earned millions in royalties.

The conservatorship was terminated in September 2023, but the lawsuit concerning financial matters is still ongoing.