A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Tuohy knew what it meant to be the poor kid in a private school… he had been one himself. With sports as his meal ticket through high school and college, Tuohy left home after graduating from The Isidore Newman School and headed for The University of Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss, on a basketball scholarship. When Tuohy graduated from Ole Miss, he shattered every major SEC assist record. Tuohy had become a legend in the SEC! He led Ole Miss to their first ever SEC championship and holds honors from Hall of Fames to retired jerseys.
Drafted by the NBA’s New Jersey Nets in 1982, Tuohy opted to continue his career overseas before returning to the US to be with his father during his final days. He became a successful entrepreneur building a company that now owns and operates fast food restaurants including Taco Bell, KFC and Freddy’s.
Tuohy has been married to his college cheerleader sweetheart, the former Leigh Anne Roberts, since 1982. They are the proud parents of daughter Collins and sons Michael Oher and Sean Junior.
Prior to Tuohy’s NBA Broadcasting career, he was an analyst for the radio broadcast at Ole Miss as well as a broadcaster for Westwood One and CBS radio. In addition to his demanding business, broadcasting, school and church schedules (he along with several others helped to create one of the fastest growing evangelical churches in Memphis, the Grace Evangelical Church) Tuohy is heavily involved in numerous organizations that support kids. Tuohy says, “It’s easy to beat up a kid. The hard thing is to build him up.”
That philosophy is what propelled the Tuohy family to bring Michael into their home, give him love and support, and eventually adopt him as their son.
The Tuohy’s life was chronicled in Michael Lewis’ New York Times bestseller, The Blind Side. The book then went on to become a record breaking Hollywood Blockbuster movie that has earned more than $400 million at the box office. The Blind Side has become the number one sports themed movie in history surpassing Rocky! The Tuohy family’s inspirational story has been covered over national media, including Katie, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America, 20/20, The Today Show, Dr. Drew, Sean Hannity, and Huckabee.
Years after The Blind Side has burst onto the scene, breaking box office records and inspiring individuals nationwide, Tuohy continues to make an impact. In July 2010, he and his wife Leigh Anne released the New York Times bestseller, In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving. They also established their charity, The Making it Happen Foundation which promotes awareness, provides help, and seeks to improve the standard of living for all the children fighting to survive in the invisible cracks in society. Tuohy serves on numerous boards and never misses an opportunity to mentor and coach others up.
Through all of their projects Sean, and the entire Tuohy family, continue their mission to inspire hope, ignite generosity, and make it happen for the deserving but underserved youth in our society.
