The True Story Behind The “Blind Side”

The Movie Ignored The Fact That Oher Was A Basketball Star

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 21: Offensive lineman Michael Oher of Mississippi runs the 40 yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine presented by Under Armour at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 21, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

When you spend millions of dollars advertising a coming of age football story there’s good reason to ignore anything having to do with other pursuits of the main character. In real life, Michael Oher wasn’t 100% focused only on football. Oher was a star basketball player and runner-up for high school player of the year in Tennessee. He may have been portrayed as a quiet and timid young man in the movie but in reality, he was a star athlete who outshone his fellow teammates. Michael chose to pursue football at Ole Miss but many doors would have opened up for him if he had decided on basketball instead.