Michael Oher: From the Streets to NFL
By Victoria H.
Michael and the Tuohys.
Source: inspiredbyit.com
Many people recognize Michael Oher as “Big Mike” from the movie The Blind Side or one of the football players for the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League (NFL). Weighing over 300 pounds and hitting the height of 6 foot 4 inches Michael really is a big guy, with deep cocoa skin, a strong muscular build, short hair, and a full beard to cover his face. Although more often he may seem tough and serious, he sports a smile that reflects just how grateful and happy he is with life. Times were not always happy for Michael growing up in tough situations, but he has overcome these hardships.
The quality of life for Michael was poor and near-hopeless before football became his career. It was in the ghettos of Memphis, Tennessee where he lived and shared similar stories with many others who also experienced a broken home, lived around drug use and crime, and struggled to survive the troubles of poverty. Things didn’t have to be so bad for the Oher family, but the biggest problem was that their primary caretaker was irresponsible. The caretaker was Michael’s mother, who preferred things like crack and cocaine over looking after her twelve children. There were countless nights where Michael and his siblings were alone and had to search for a place to stay, whether at a neighbor’s house or a friend’s, because their mother never came home. There were even times when Michael would be locked out of his own home while his mother was inside doing drugs with her friends. He moved numerous times throughout his childhood, attending multiple schools throughout each year, which contributed to repeating first and second grade.
The quality of life for Michael was poor and near-hopeless before football became his career. It was in the ghettos of Memphis, Tennessee where he lived and shared similar stories with many others who also experienced a broken home, lived around drug use and crime, and struggled to survive the troubles of poverty. Things didn’t have to be so bad for the Oher family, but the biggest problem was that their primary caretaker was irresponsible. The caretaker was Michael’s mother, who preferred things like crack and cocaine over looking after her twelve children. There were countless nights where Michael and his siblings were alone and had to search for a place to stay, whether at a neighbor’s house or a friend’s, because their mother never came home. There were even times when Michael would be locked out of his own home while his mother was inside doing drugs with her friends. He moved numerous times throughout his childhood, attending multiple schools throughout each year, which contributed to repeating first and second grade.
He only met his father twice, mostly between prison transfers, and his maternal grandmother wanted nothing to do with the family. Eventually social workers would come to take the Oher children away, so hiding or running away was the only option they had. Sadly, they were eventually caught at school and split up. Michael moved from foster home to foster home and even remained homeless at times. He shares his story about how stealing became a ritual to make up for the lack of food that he received at home. It started with stealing candy, but eventually candy wasn’t enough for his growing body and he would progress to stealing meals. Michael said:
It was actually a matter of survival for me. My mother didn’t keep food in the house and what I was able to bum from people in the neighborhood wasn’t nearly enough to fill me up. I needed food---real food that could keep up with my body. (Oher 78) Despite all that was going against him, Michael was determined to break out of the cycle, to succeed, and eventually was able to rise above the difficult situation that he was born into and the life he could have struggled through. Michael endured a lot of bad situations that he has forced himself to forget. At the age of 16 he finally entered into the home of Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy and was adopted at age 18, which is a rare occurrence for many foster children of that age because younger children have a better chance at becoming adopted than older children. From this point on, the lives of the Tuohy family and Michael would be forever changed. |
Life with the Tuohys was better than he would imagine: a loving family with strong support for its members. He didn't have to worry about where to stay or where his next meal would come from, if people were being unfair to him, or if he was going to run into trouble; it was all taken care of. Michael started to succeed in school. He discovered a talent for football and eventually climbed his way to the top of the charts. He graduated high school and attended college with no problems. It wasn’t long until he was drafted into the NFL to play for the Ravens and since then he’s lived a life that’s the total opposite from his childhood. Not only can he support himself with the enormous paycheck that he receives, but he can buy anything he’s dreamed of:
It’s crazy now, as I look at my career and the opportunities I have, to think about how I was living just a few years ago. I had to beg for anything I needed; now I have everything I could possibly want. |
Most importantly, he’s got the mentality that keeps him from getting sucked back into life in the ghetto.
Unlike some players from the NFL who spend their paychecks too quickly and irresponsibly, putting themselves into bankruptcy, Michael has carefully controlled his spending. “I try to stay grounded, live simply, pay cash for everything, and just focus on doing my job,” says Michael (Oher 191). He believes that he needs to keep working hard and never take his opportunities for granted. Michael doesn’t claim to live like a celebrity nor does he feel like one. He truly wants to work as hard as he can so he can keep his place in the NFL, only allowing someone genuinely more talented to replace him. Michael is a wise man at only age 26, who lives a life that many only dream of, yet stays smart about it. He is a role model for many others like himself because he has proven that with hard work, determination, some faith, and a little help, anyone can break out of a harsh cycle or a hard life that has been handed to them.
Unlike some players from the NFL who spend their paychecks too quickly and irresponsibly, putting themselves into bankruptcy, Michael has carefully controlled his spending. “I try to stay grounded, live simply, pay cash for everything, and just focus on doing my job,” says Michael (Oher 191). He believes that he needs to keep working hard and never take his opportunities for granted. Michael doesn’t claim to live like a celebrity nor does he feel like one. He truly wants to work as hard as he can so he can keep his place in the NFL, only allowing someone genuinely more talented to replace him. Michael is a wise man at only age 26, who lives a life that many only dream of, yet stays smart about it. He is a role model for many others like himself because he has proven that with hard work, determination, some faith, and a little help, anyone can break out of a harsh cycle or a hard life that has been handed to them.