this is >> tonight, behind the blind side. the hollywood feel-good story. you think you know. >> you protect his blind side. when you look at him, you think of me. yes, ma'am.

>> but super bowl champion michael oher, the real life star of the story from nothing to a super bowl champion. >> i'm in shock right now. >> now facing off in court. people he once called family. >> when you watch that film back all these years later, it's a little cringey. >> was it a good deed or a misdeed? plus mascot mania as the cameras are fixed on the field, the mascots making magic in the background. >> they're not clowns. this isn't just silly furriness. they're making people feel better behind the scenes with pro sport's most famous phillies. >> gritty. >> he knows i'm from boston. i think that's what it is. >> plus, the boot camp with the next generation of mascots making furry fun their future. you could make close to a million dollars a year, and it's christmas time. do they know it's christmas? on its anniversary, the remix featuring new voices and some notable departed artists. christmas time

alone. >> nightline will be right back. >> nightline will be right back. here's to just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? ious. and don't forget to try some delicious, creamy lactaid ice cream. what's that mabel? (mooo) wow, smart cow!

but do they really? do they see that crick in your neck? that ache in your heart? will they see that funny little thing that wasn't there last year? a new bounce in your step? the way your retinal scan connects to your blood sugar? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. more@starlight.org. >> good evening. thank this weel about food, football and family. tonight we take another look at the super bowl champ at the center of the blind side, michael oher, suing the family who took him in as a teenager.

the hollywood version of the story appealing to millions. but oprah says there's another side to the story. here's nightline correspondent austin sing one more time. >> it was a story tailor made for hollywood. a wealthy white family taking in a black, at times homeless teenager guiding his football career from a high school standout to ole miss. to the nfl. the inspiring story the tuohy family and michael super bowl winning offensive tackle, was first a book by acclaimed author michael lewis and then a blockbuster movie. the blind side >> coach, you've done a great job with this young man and the winner is sandra bullock and the blind side. >> sandra bullock winning an oscar for her portrayal of leigh anne tuohy, a steel magnolia not to be crossed. >> you threaten my son, you

threaten me. you so much as cross into downtown, you will be sorry. i'm in a prayer group with the da. i'm a member of the nra and i'm always packing. >> but now michael oher claims he was blindsided by the movie. so many of us know and love. >> when you go into a locker room and your teammates don't think you can learn a playbook, you know that weighs heavy in an epic plot twist, no one saw coming or now suing the family who took him in the former nfl star in court, alleging the celebrated tuohy family owe him millions. >> the case, now in the hands of a judge, the retired nfl star questioning everything he thought was true or doubting his once close relationship with the tuohy family. he thinks i birthed him. >> it's gotten to the point where i think i birthed him. >> they just consistently referred to michael as their son and sometimes as their adopted son. and so that's what the world believes, you know, that they adopted him.

>> in coming to terms with the damage he says the movie did to his life and career. >> people don't know anything about me. i mean, you might see something on tv and think, you know, but you got to get to know me as a person. you'll never know a person by watching a movie or reading a book. >> his lawsuit alleging that sean and leigh anne tuohy saw him as a gullible young man whose athletic talent could be exploited for their own benefit, and that the two he's claimed he was their adopted son when in reality he wasn't. the petition accusing the tuohys of negotiating a movie deal where they would reap millions while or receive nothing. alleging the tuohys only negotiated payment for themselves and their biological children, and that he received no payment whatsoever for the life rights to his story, or ask for a full accounting of the money earned off, the use of his story and unspecified damages. >> michael sees it all as as sort of wrong from the start, or would not comment to abc news

for the story, but he did speak to journalist michael sokolove. >> the story, published in the new york times magazine. >> whether we agree with how he sees it, i think it's understandable that someone would feel differently as a 38 year old adult than they would as an 18 year old, or even a 26 year old. in the midst of trying to stay in the nfl 48 hours ago, a bomb dropped on our client's to say they were devastated by these allegations is truly an understatement. >> lawyers for the tuohys countering each family member, including or made an equal amount of money from the film. >> imagine a pie divided by five. okay, we estimate each person received $100,000. each person in the family in court filings, the two is submitting an accounting statement of what

they say shows the full payments to or for his equal share, a little over $138,000. >> the tuohy family, also claiming or is trying to extort them. text messages. they say are between them and the former nfl star. allegedly show or demanding they pay him millions. the tuohys filing, also stating the use of the term adopted was always meant in its colloquial sense. it was never meant as a legal term of art. >> and a lot of legal terms become colloquial adoptions, not really one of them. >> the tuohys, contesting his suit. >> this is a sad day. it's devastating to the family and we hope that it doesn't have a chilling effect on others who want to help needy individuals. >> michael awes inspiring story of escaping an impoverished childhood in foster care, then making it to the nfl inspired millions. he was a first round nfl draft pick in 2009.

>> the baltimore ravens select michael oher, selected 23rd overall by the baltimore ravens. >> the tools were there by his side just months into his nfl career. the blind side phenomenon swept the nation. >> beautiful dress. if not for the movie, michael would have been as famous as most offensive linemen who toiled in the nfl, which is to say, not all that famous. it's a pretty anonymous position. shotgun. woo hoo! the movie made sean and leanne very famous. it cast them as heroes. the movie made michael famous, but not in a way that he would have ever wanted. >> the tuohys becoming advocates for foster care and adoption. >> there's kids falling through the cracks of this society every single day, and they need our time. >> but in fact, the tuohys didn't legally adopt him. instead, they filed to be his legal conservators in august of 2004, when michael was already

18 and legally an adult. >> a conservatorship is when you appoint an individual to take care of another person, either their financial or medical needs because they're either incapacitated or a minor. >> the tuohys declined to comment to abc news, but in an interview with the daily memphian last year, sean tuohy said a conservatorship would allow her to play football for ole miss, the couple's alma mater, and that lawyers advised them that they couldn't adopt michael since he was over the age of 18. however, it is legal to adopt an adult in tennessee. >> i think it's important to realize that they could have adopted him by law. instead, they chose this conservatorship. it's unclear why they did that. >> while orth thrived at ole miss and says he does not regret going there, he has long said parts of the movie weren't true. he spoke about it on the jim rome show last year. >> can i leave now? >> i'm honored to have the position that's given me. but,

you know, you have to understan, before i moved in with the family, i was an all american. >> i think changing the detail of a young man being taught to play football versus a young man who's already gifted in football is significant, especially in the case of this film. >> see, this just means that you're going to block whoever's in front of you or on your inside shoulder. if you're not covered by a defender. >> was it annoying that the movie portrayed it as if you had to learn to play football? >> yeah, that part right there. it really got me because, no, it wasn't anything. it wasn't never like that. but i've always known how to play, to play the game of football or played for eight seasons in the nfl and retired in 2017 after suffering a serious concussion. >> after his retirement, his relationship with the tuohys began to deteriorate. >> michael's resentment had been building for a good many years as he grew older. as he matured,

as he looked back and i think it came to a head with the lawsuit just last year, at orr's request, a probate court judge dissolved the nearly 20 year conservatorship. >> the tuohy family offering to remove all mentions of or supposed adoption from their websites and not to mention adoption in public speeches. on the day the lawsuit was filed, sean tuohy told a reporter for the daily memphian, we were going to love michael. at 37, just like we loved him at 16. the legal battle between the tuohys and or continues now, or looking ahead to a future where he can chart his own path. >> we should have opportunities and resources to go out here and live a normal young adult child life a teenager, and go out and be successful. >> our thanks to austin for more on this story. watch the full impact by nightline. behind the

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>> welcome back. acting antics and athleticism. that's some of what it takes to become a professional sports mascot. many who do it consider it a calling. and those who do it well are rewarded with fans and followers. and dollars. lots of dollars. here again is abc's austin sing with another look. >> on game day, you can't help

but notice the phillie phanatic benny the bull. casey wolfe, billy buffalo and hundreds more of these guys. team mascots. some have been around for decades, while others twerk their way into viral stardom. >> mascots spread joy. that's their job. if the mascot helped provide even a little bit of a good experience during that game, that's what you're going to remember anyway. >> so much more than furry creatures doing silly moves inside. every costume is a full fledged performer. some, like the san antonio spurs coyote displaying athleticism rivaling players on their teams, amassing huge followings all their own, and some are cashing in big at the very top. rocky the mountain lion, the denver nuggets mascot, reportedly making 625,000 a year. followed by the atlanta hawks harry the hawk at 600,000. and that's just their salary. >> you could make close to $1

million a year if you're just with the game day. and then side gigs to. >> in the world of major league mascots doesn't get much bigger than gritty the philadelphia fliers mascot has roughly million followers on social media. do people love gritty more than any other mascot? it's no easy feat. speaking with a seven foot tall creature who can only gesture for answers after asking one too many questions, i quickly lose cool points with gritty. >> he knows i'm from boston. i think that's what it is. >> oh, there it is. i'm out of here. oh brother the hard work it takes to reach gritty's of fame better than his creator, dave raymond. >> you know, when you've done a good job. gritty, when the rest

of the mascots in the nhl are a little a little jealous, that's only going to level other people up. they're going to say, we need to be as good as and gritty as one of the placeholders. the phanatic is one of the placeholders. >> anyone who's anyone in this world knows dave raymond. >> i am the fanatic's best friend. i watch out for everything that he does. >> the original philly phanatic from 1978 to 1993. a pioneer who pretty much wrote the blueprint for all the mascots who followed the phanatic, was the first team created concept that they treated it like the most important marketing decision they could make. since then, he's been at the forefront of shaping mascots into a thriving career and business model. >> the first step always is show me the backstory. >> where are they from? how did they get here? the only way you can get people to care is to tell a story that comes right from you. how are you? nice to see you. >> creating that backstory is key. when dave hosts his annual mascot boot camp with a so-called fraternity of characters, get to know others

like them. >> i am well known as a mascot performer for the lake elsinore storm. >> i perform as hootie the hustlin owl for the oregon institute of technology. my character is buster. we associate him as the cousin of the phanatic. >> i am the mascot and entertainment manager for the richmond flying squirrels. >> they've gathered from across the country for three intense days of training to learn the secrets of their craft. >> so you have to invest in them. a good performer, a great costume from the practical. okay, let's talk about hydration. we're going to be using a lot of ice, and you should be drinking water to the musical. >> even the philosophical. >> this is important work. >> you're doing this isn't just silly furriness. you know, they're really changing people's days. they're making people feel better. >> another important part of the craft coming to the mascot, suiting up. what happens when you put on that suit? >> i can be myself. >> oh, no. that's right. yeah, yeah, yeah. >> while i'm practicing in a suit filled with air.

>> and then the floss, the mascots act out complicated skits, dance and do tricks and costumes weighing upwards of 40 pounds and make it look effortless. >> this is a lot of work, man. >> what separates to you a good performer? because they're all good from a great performer. >> i think it's mostly nonverbal communication and their ability to move in a way that you remember them. >> mascots who have carved out a name for themselves end up here at the mascot hall of fame in the small city of whiting, indiana. >> this is our winner's display. >> you can see here who they are when they were inducted and what their species is. wow, a spheroid humanoid. >> i've always wondered, what is mr. mayor designed for? >> kids of all ages? the hall of fame is also an interactive museum. >> all of our exhibits are steam based. and basically, you walk through our exhibit area and you learn what it takes to be a mascot. >> and today, visitors are in for a treat. dave puts his class

to the test at a birthday party. the mascots win the audience over one smile and one selfie at a time. >> they just connect on this emotional level and you forget about whatever's going on bad for a few minutes. >> my dream is to have hootie inducted into the mascot hall of fame. i am so proud of the work that i've done with him. >> justin or minnie thunder has nba dreams. >> i started seeing all these big mascots all over the world. i was like, whoa, that's what i want to do. >> i would like to hopefully one day, maybe if i'm blessed enough to be the phillie phanatic, i would love to, you know, bring female energy into philly. >> regardless of the score, dave says it's the mascots that are making the memories. >> what mascots do is serious fun. this is something that can change lives. we got to make sure we recognize how important fun is in our lives, not just to take a break, but to be better mentally and physically.

>> our thanks to austin when we return the 40th anniversary of do they know it's christmas? a brand new remix featuring singers we've lost, including former one direction star liam payne. here's to you. payne. here's to you. >> raise a glass to everyone you're using head & shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head & shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here. i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. make every wash count! and for stubborn dandruff, try head & shoulders clinical strength. if you're living with hiv, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills. ♪ good to go binge-watch.

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>> and finally, tonight,t, a christmas classic. getting a new spin in 1984. band aid, who's who of rock royalty releasing do they know it's christmas? raising awareness and much needed assistance for the famine in ethiopia. the brand new 40th anniversary remix, a mash up of the original and earlier versions featuring stars like harry styles and chris martin, but also giving fans glimpses of late legends like david bowie, sinead o'connor and even former one direction star liam payne. bob geldof, the impresario behind the song, saying this little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people alive.