Branton Sherman still hearing non-stop from little brother Richard

We all know Richard Sherman has plenty to say. But no one has heard him as much as his big brother Branton.

“This kid, he’s been talking like this literally since he could talk,” Branton laughs in an interview with 710 Sports.com’s The Barbershop featuring Marcus Trufant, Gee Scott and Terry Hollimon.

The brothers have been inseparable their entire lives, growing up in the tough environment of Compton in South Central Los Angeles.

“I always knew that if one of us didn’t make it, one would be right there with the other one and we’d be grinding. That’s how we were raised.”

The Sherman brothers always dreamed big, imagining hoisting trophies together as they went head to head on the field and in the living room, Branton says.

“We even played out the Super Bowl scene, the NBA championship in our rooms, everything you could think of. At the end of the day, I would be the MVP because I’m the big brother, you know what I’m saying?” he laughs.

Their games got pretty spirited, and occasionally expensive for their folks Richard and Beverly.

“We broke living room tables, we put holes in the wall.” And he says they got the occasional “whooping” because of it. “Oh man, yes we did.”

But the boys always bounced back, and toughened up. It came in handy when criticism started coming Richard’s way following his 2012 suspension for testing positive for Adderall. The suspension was ultimately overturned following his appeal.

“You know, coming from where we’re from in Compton, we’ve seen and been through a whole lot worse than some people on social media saying this and that,” Branton says. “I know who Richard is at heart, people who know him know who he is.”

Millions more now know who he is since helping lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl championship. As business manager for the Richard Sherman Family Foundation, all of the attention is keeping Branton as busy as his brother.

The Sherman’s will host the second annual Richard Sherman Celebrity Softball Game Sunday at Safeco Field.

The lineups for the charity event feature numerous teammates including Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Kam Chancellor and others, along with a number of other celebrities including Kobe Bryant, Macklemore, former Sonics greats Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, and a number of other notables.

Putting the tournament together hasn’t been easy for Branton. With so many celebrities wanting to take part, he’s the guy given the unenviable task of telling some of them there’s no room. And he’s getting plenty of grief from some feeling shunned by his brother.

“I’m just the guy. I’m just doing what I’m told to do,” he laughs.

What he and the family’s foundation is doing is raising thousands of dollars to help provide students in low-income communities with school supplies and clothing to more adequately achieve their goals.

Their work was inspired by growing up where many kids didn’t have access to computers or even the basic things they needed to succeed in school.

“We grew up where the playing field isn’t completely even,” Branton says. “We saw a lot of kids get stuck in that whole ballgame and now that we have the platform, we want to take advantage of that platform and help out as much as we can and level this playing field out.”

A limited number of tickets to the Richard Sherman Celebrity Softball Tournament are still available. You can learn more or purchase tickets here.