The Blind Side’s white savior tale was always built on shaky ground

The main figures in the Oscar-winning movie are embroiled in an ugly legal dispute. But the story never sat comfortably with many observers

In late 2009 I was sent to Baltimore for a Sports Illustrated feature story on Michael Oher, a rare household name among NFL offensive linemen. Oher was a few months into his rookie year and on the brink of a critical showdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

In the book version of The Blind Side, which places Oher within the NFL’s evolution into a passing league, he is set on a collision course with the sport’s top quarterback cruncher – Indy’s Dwight Freeney. And after devouring the Michael Lewis book, his Moneyball for football geeks, I was keen to dig into this and more with Oher. By this point he was over the book and unhappy with the much-hyped film that sprang from it and was due to premiere that same weekend. The Ravens PR team cautioned that Oher would turn me away faster than a corner blitzer if I asked too many questions about The Blind Side. Just how touchy a subject it was for him has become that much clearer in the wake of a feud that contains personal wounds, cultural rifts and career consequences that run deep.