American football player Willie Anderson has blamed sports film, The Blind Side, for his exclusion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Anderson, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, has been a three-time finalist for the award, given to those who have achieved excellence in the sport.
But the 49-year-old blamed the 2009 Oscar-nominated movie starring Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, and Tim McGraw for his lack of recognition.
During an interview on Up & Adams on Thursday (19 July), the football star said that the film, based on a true story, glorifies the left tackle position, while he played as an offensive lineman on the opposite side of the line at right tackle.
“The media had a bias because they just didn’t understand the importance of the guys we blocked over there [on the right side] were some of the best rushers of all-time,” Anderson told Adams.
“The whole Blind Side thing got taken out because of the movie and the right side guys got pushed away.”
Kay Adams, who hosts the show, asked Anderson if he felt the movie had ruined his bid for the prestigious accolade.
“Absolutely,” Anderson replied.
“You got guys who are 18, 19-years-old that will tell you, ‘I only want to play left tackle.’ And I say, ‘Go look at what Penei Sewell’s contract was for the Lions this year. Over $100 million,’” Anderson continued.
“The kids, their parents, and the media pushing left tackle is a huge deal. But they don’t realise guards are getting paid crazy money right now.
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“It’s definitely changed for the better, I think, because these rushers are coming from everywhere now. Right side, left guard, over the centre, everywhere.”
The film, released in 2009, was based on the 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. It follows a white family who adopts a black child, who is born to drug-addicted parents and raised in poverty.
It was beset by scandal following its release after it was revealed that Michael Oher, the man the movie is based on, had not in fact been adopted. Instead, Oher had been placed under a conservatorship that gave his guardians, the Tuohy family, full control of his business contracts and finances. He was released from the agreement in 2023.
Oher discovered the reality of the situation in February 2023 when he found details of the conservatorship in documents. The Tuohy family have denied the claims, saying “It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children.”
