Now former Ole’ Miss coach Hugh Freeze has earned many critics recently, but he has one notable supporter — former player Michael Oher.
Freeze coached Oher in high school, as was depicted in the movie The Blind Side. In a conversation with Josh Peter of USA Today, Oher defended Freeze and his character.
“He is a man of God and a man full of integrity,’’ Oher said of Freeze. “I don’t know the full story but I’m willing to bet that everyone in the world had made a mistake that they have wanted someone to forgive them for.’’
Freeze resigned as Ole’ Miss’ coach after it was revealed that he called an escort service — which he has said was a mistake.
It makes sense that Oher would give his former coach the benefit of the doubt. As he said (via Peter), “without coach Freeze there is no Michael Oher and no The Blind Side.”
Even beyond that, we certainly can’t dispute Oher’s notion that nobody is perfect. We also can’t question the idea that Freeze made a positive impact on a lot of people, including Oher.
This is not the first time in the recent past that Oher has been down this road.
He recently defended former Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman after other players ripped him. If nothing else, Oher is certainly loyal.
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