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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Super Bowl XLIX

Politics next for Seahawks' Richard Sherman? Maybe, but he hopes not soon

Jim Corbett
USA TODAY Sports
Seahawks CB Richard Sherman knows how to work a crowd from the podium.

PHOENIX — What calling will Richard Sherman heed after he's done playing for the Seattle Seahawks? His close friend Doug Baldwin thinks he knows.

"Sherm is going to be a politician," said Baldwin, a teammate of Sherman's at Stanford and in Seattle. "There's no doubt about that. I don't think he wants to be a politician. But somebody's going to tick him off, and he'll probably become a politician."

Sherman just probably won't be a politically correct politician. After all, the central question with the all-pro cornerback isn't so much what makes him tick, but rather what ticks him off.

"Politics isn't a bad way to go," Sherman said. "There's some things out there that need to be changed, and some things that I feel like I would be an asset. But I don't know.

"There are a lot of different avenues that I'm going to explore when football is done. Hopefully, that isn't any time soon."

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If Sherman isn't the game's best corner, he is Super Bowl week's most provocative star, candid and unafraid to articulate what others might only think.

He didn't hold back Sunday when asked about the Deflategate controversy that has dogged the New England Patriots, Seattle's Super Bowl XLIX opponent. Sherman questioned the close relationship between Pats owner Robert Kraft and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, calling it a conflict of interest, and speculated the team ultimately won't be punished.

"There aren't a lot of guys like Sherm," Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said. "He's going to be legendary when we look back."

Heck, he might be legendary once the last flake of confetti flutters to the University of Phoenix Stadium turf following Sunday night's clash with Kraft's Patriots.

Will New England quarterback Tom Brady do what the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers was loathe to do this season and test Sherman, who is recovering from an elbow injury.

"Hopefully," Sherman said. "I welcome that. I'm a competitor. He's a competitor.

"When you play Tom, you have to be on it, understand the route tree and not make mistakes."

Sherman hasn't made many, even while navigating the insidious streets of the Compton section of Los Angeles as a youth. He emerged to attend Stanford as a wide receiver, converted to cornerback for the Cardinal and was drafted in the fifth round by the Seahawks in 2011.

"Growing up in Compton, you just deal with different things than I guess a regular neighborhood would deal with," Sherman said. "You deal with a lot more adversity, different people trying to pull you in different directions.

"I didn't realize every place wasn't like that until you leave and visit other neighborhoods. And you realize that other neighborhoods don't just have drug dealers around, crack addicts walking down the street, violence on a daily basis (and) police helicopters roaming around."

Then he added: "Once you learn that, you're kind of grateful for that environment. ... Because you know if you can survive there, you can survive anywhere."

He's thrived between the lines, where he employs his calculated, confrontational persona. But that doesn't always follow him off the field, where he considers himself a fun-loving "jokester."

"When I'm on the field, I enjoy the talking, the gravity of it," Sherman said. "I enjoy seeing myself having a blast playing the game I love.

"We're a family. ... We've been blessed to form a very tight bond between our teammates, not only my Legion of Boom (defensive back) mates but Cliff Avril, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson. That chemistry, belief and care for one another allows us to dig deeper and play at an even higher level."

However speaking of family, Sherman's is about to grow with his girlfriend due to give birth to his first child any day. What will he do if forced to choose between the Super Bowl field or the delivery room?

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he said. "We're not thinking about that possibility."

The Patriots probably shouldn't, either, and are surely expecting the supremely confident cover man to be fully focused.

"The reason I like Sherman is his attitude," said veteran Pittsburgh Steelers corner Ike Taylor. "A bad game for Sherm is two or three completions. That's a great game for any other corner.

"He's a fifth-round draft pick, so his fire will always burn from that. Just like Tom Brady's fire burns as a sixth-round pick."

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Follow Jim Corbett on Twitter @ByJimCorbett

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