Bell: Sherman gets A for classwork, but F for class

Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

Richard Sherman has a degree from Stanford. And the 2011 fifth-round pick also earned all-pro honors in his second season with the Seattle Seahawks.

He is an amazing success story, wrapped in will, skill and quick wits. He made it out of Compton, Calif.

Yet execute a Google search, and the menu is littered with foolishness, much of it stemming from a recent Twitter beef with New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

What a shame.

Sherman — who also has made news for taunting Tom Brady and for winning an appeal of a four-game NFL suspension for the banned substance Adderall — has so much to offer, but he's building a reputation fueled by idiocy.

Wednesday, Sherman went back to Compton and his alma mater, Dominguez High School, as part of a three-stop tour to promote educational goals. During a chat with USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, he was jazzed up about his ambitious theme, which included goal-setting and hurdling socio-economic obstacles.

"I'm telling them there's another whole world to explore," he said.

Let's hope that Sherman did not encourage the kids to get a degree, then become loud-mouthed trash talkers prone to disrespecting peers.

When Sherman got in Brady's face after an October win vs. the New England Patriots, it seemed like a competitive psych thing. Maybe for himself. For fun. Some choose cold-shoulder tactics; others use drama.

But the social-media tiff with Revis, and the expressions about being the NFL's best cornerback, was such a waste of his newfound platform.

"People are listening to him," said John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes the hiring of minority coaches and executives in the NFL. "Why not say something meaningful to other people? And to me, the worst thing a guy can do in trying to push himself up, is when you disrespect someone else."

Wooten once played guard for the Cleveland Browns and blocked for his roommate, Jim Brown. He wishes more players would use their fame to support social causes. I agree.

Think Sherman feels that vibe?

"That's the type of thing you should always want to do," he said. "It's part of responsibility we have."

Sherman sounded respectful enough. But that's a contrast to, say, sniping with Revis over silliness. Remember, the great ones don't have to tell you that they are.

"What, is he up for a new contract?" Keyshawn Johnson said.

Sherman, due a $555,000 base salary in 2013, has two years left on his rookie contract. Revis is due $6 million in cash and bonuses this year.

"This is an era we're in," Johnson said. "It's a social media era, a push-the-button, can't-return era. Maybe he hasn't grown up yet. You're talking about a kid, not a 50-year-old man. I know what you're getting at, but it's expecting a lot for some of these young guys to focus in."

Johnson, a former wideout drafted No. 1 overall in 1996, has parlayed his football career into business ventures, including investments in several Panera Bread franchises. He also can relate to Sherman. Johnson grew up in South Central Los Angeles.

"Just think of what Richard Sherman had to do academically and athletically to qualify to get into Stanford," Johnson said. "You don't get any slack because you're an athlete. I don't know what his test scores were, but they had to be through the roof. That says a lot about him."

That commitment to education should define Sherman, because the self-promoting chatter tests poorly.