Richard Sherman’s brother says Seahawks corner eats Fruit Gushers, watches cartoons

CNN's Piers Morgan was supposed to have the parents of controversial Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman on his show Monday night, and it sounds like it would have been a treat.

Technical difficulties prevented Sherman's parents from joining the show, so Morgan was left to speak to Sherman's brother and business manager, Branton, who told quite the story about their mother who tried her best, along with their father, to keep the kids in line amid their hardscrabble livelihood living in Compton.

Branton was a good athlete in his own right growing up, but when he stepped out of line at school one day years ago, she drove right up to the football field he was playing on and gave him a piece of her mind.

"She literally pulled up on the football field and whooped my butt," Branton said.

Too bad she couldn't make the show. Sounds like Richard might share a little of her fire. Morgan said they'd try to get her on "tomorrow night," but CNN is slated to carry President Obama's State of the Union address. Perhaps they'll retry later in the week.

But Branton also gave us another interesting view of the outspoken Sherman, who was the talk of the nation this past week following his post-NFC title game rant about Michael Crabtree.

Branton joined the legion of Sherman supporters who cite Sherman's intelligence and say that his passion sometimes gets the best of him, as he has tried to emulate brazen legends such as Muhammad Ali and Deion Sanders. But we also learned a few interesting childlike qualities about the talented cornerback as Branton recalled his brother's conversation with Erin Andrews.

"I know Richard; he’s an awesome person," Branton said. "A lot of people of Seattle and people of our hometown, they know he’s a very good, caring, loving, Gusher-eating, cartoon-watching guy. He’s passionate and he wants to be the best at his craft.

"He feels like he’s the best, and he wants everyone to know it. That day, he let the world know."

Wait, back up ... Fruit Gushers? Cartoons? Someone needs to ask Sherman more about this on Tuesday's Media Day.

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Eric Edholm

is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!