Michael Oher, whose life story was loosely adapted for 2009’s schmaltzy, accuracy-challenged The Blind Side, has spoken out once again against the movie, saying it’s had a negative impact on his career. Speaking to ESPN, Oher—who currently plays for the Carolina Panthers—said that the movie distracts people from focusing on his skills on the field, saying, “People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don’t really see the skills and the kind of player I am. That’s why I get downgraded so much, because of something off the field.”
Oher previously denounced the movie—which depicts the efforts of the wealthy Tuohy family to help a fictionalized version of the athlete stop looking around like a dopey puppy dog and graduate from high school—in 2012, shortly before helping the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl. He also spoke about it in his autobiography, I Beat The Odds, pointing out that a scene where Sandra Bullock’s Leigh Anne Tuohy explodes his mind with the world’s easiest lesson in sports psychology was a clear fabrication.
Neither Warner Bros., nor director John Lee Hancock, have responded to Oher’s comments, no matter how many times news writers would like to refer to them as being “blindsided” by the claims. It’s possible, of course, that the left tackle’s statements were simply meant as a form of P.R., or cover for perceived bad performances in recent seasons. It’s also possible that Oher is employing an intimidation tactic against his opponents, who now realize they’re facing down a man so tough, he’s not afraid of Sandra Bullock showing up and beating him with her Oscar for talking crap about The Blind Side.