“The Blind Side” may have done wonders for Sandra Bullock’s career, but for Michael Oher it’s been nothing but a burden.
The Carolina Panthers tackle, the subject of the 2009 movie and book of the same name, said after a minicamp scuffle Wednesday that the box office hit has been nothing but a negative for his career on the field.
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” Oher told ESPN Wednesday. “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.
“This stuff, calling me a bust, people saying if I can play or not … that has nothing to do with football. It’s something else off the field. That’s why I don’t like that movie.”
Oher got in a fight Wednesday with defensive end Kony Ealy, and assumed the fight got more attention because he was involved.
“Offensive linemen don’t get looked at,” Oher said. “Nobody is paying attention to the offensive line. But me? I’m getting watched for everything. I know what type of player I am. Everybody else that I know knows what type of player I am. So that kind of stuff doesn’t worry me.”
Oher was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the 23rd pick of the 2009 NFL Draft but never quite lived up to his status as a high pick even while helping win the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.
The 6-foot-5, 309-pound Ole Miss grad was released by the Ravens following the 2013 season. He signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Tennessee Titans before the start of last season, but was released this past offseason after playing just 11 games due to a toe injury.
He signed a two-year, $7 million deal with Panthers and is expected to start at left tackle.
Bullock won an Oscar for her performance as Oher’s adoptive mother, Leigh Anne Toughy.
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