Tragic Details About Michael Oher

Publish date: 2024-05-09

Michael Oher's older brother, Marcus Oher, was just 10 years old when he became a fatherly figure for his younger siblings. "He did his best to make sure we all had food, brushed our teeth, showed up at school," Michael writes in "I Beat the Odds." Michael never had a relationship with his biological father, Michael Jerome Williams. Williams was in and out of prison and had very few interactions with his son. One of those rare occasions stands out to Michael, who recalls, "Once he gave me a few dollars when he stopped by to visit my mother, and I thought that was pretty special." 

When he was in high school, Michael learned of his father's murder. Per "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" author Michael Lewis, Williams' body had been dumped over the side of a bridge. Lewis writes that Leigh Anne Tuohy consoled Michael by telling her young ward that there was an upside to the death: Williams wouldn't be looking to cash in on his familial connection to Michael once he started making money as a professional football player.

Michael suffered another loss in 2007 when his brother, Deljuan Oher, was killed in an automobile accident. As for his mother, Michael revealed that he was estranged from Denise Oher in a 2009 USA Today interview. "For someone to keep doing the same thing, which got all of her kids taken away, it kind of breaks your heart," he said.

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