Low US education rankings: too much attention to sports, media, or shopping?

You are talking about Richard Sherman. Would it surprise you that some of his teammates were majoring in the hard sciences despite playing of the team that should have won the NCAA championship? Do you realize that many athletes at Stanford would have gained admission based on academics? Do you realize that some students were admitted to Stanford and, despite being athletically qualified and recruited, did not accept the athletic scholarship.

I know this, not because made for TV stories, but because of real life experience!