Michael Oher appears to be in bad shape these days as he continues to deal with concussion symptoms eight months after his initial brain injury. An image showing 10 bottles of prescription medications with the caption, “all for the brain smh” showed up on his Instagram briefly on Thursday night before it was taken down.
Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman briefly discussed the photo Friday, but the bigger issue, he said, was Oher’s health. Period.
“I don’t know if Michael posted that photo or not,” Gettleman said, per the team’s website. “Regardless, my primary interest is Michael’s health.”
Gettleman also said he flew to Nashville and had a conversation with Oher on May 5. However, that’s the last communication the team has had with the offensive tackle famous for being the subject of the movie Blind Side.
“We really had a great visit. We talked for an hour, had lunch, it was a very comfortable conversation. We talked about a lot of things – nothing about football. It was about him, how he was doing and the issues he was dealing with,” Gettleman said. “It started and ended well. And after we met, Michael did follow up for a few days. However, the communication has stopped.
“Our No. 1 priority is a healthy Michael Oher. This is not about football, this is about Michael.”
Recently, Oher was slapped with a misdemeanor after an incident in which he allegedly assaulted an Uber driver. He’s also reportedly out of shape, which isn’t all that surprising. But it indicates he’s not healthy, both in body and mind.
It’s hard to imagine Oher ever suiting up in an NFL uniform again, given everything we’ve seen occur since September of last year. We really hope he get the support he needs and that the issues he’s dealing with as a result of that September concussion abate and cease as soon as possible.