It was 28 years ago when Kordell Stewart, the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, got a phone call from a friend who was curious to ask him a question following a stop at the barbershop.
The friend told him people at the barbershop were saying he was arrested at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh on charges of participating in a lewd act with a trans woman. Within hours, he was being contacted by former teammates and others in cities like San Francisco, Atlanta and Indianapolis.
It was a rumor – nothing more than that. Yet, Stewart, nicknamed “Slash” for his unique skill set that saw him play quarterback, receiver, running back and even punter, dealt with scrutiny and outside noise stemming from the rumor while trying to cement himself as the franchise signal caller.
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“Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn” is a new HBO and NFL Films documentary, directed by Brian Rivera, which allowed Stewart to tell his story and how a rumor had a long-term impact on his career and life.
“To have an opportunity to have a story out there to tell I think is what allured this relationship between myself, my team, with NFL Films and Brian Rivera being the director, to the collaboration with HBO and HBO Max. It’s surreal to say the least considering, with storytelling, there’s so many layers,” he told OutKick during a recent interview.
Stewart called the experience “unique and cathartic,” and it included a trip to Schenley Park and its crudely named “Fruit Loop Circle,” where the 1995 NFL Draft choice was said to have been participating in the lewd act when he was arrested. Again, Stewart was never arrested and has always denied the accusations.
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But while the rumor is something that always seems to come up when Stewart comes to the minds of Steelers fans and others, he wants his body of work on the field to be the main topic of conversation, which is the documentary’s theme.
In fact, Stewart views himself as a trailblazer in the sport because the league, in his eyes, was not ready for someone with his skill set – a dual-threat quarterback that is now coveted by teams in the NFL.
“You look at the game today. It was everything I did back then. Guys are being drafted No. 1 overall? Where’s my money, Scott? I need my back pay here, you know what I mean? Sarcastically speaking,” Stewart said. “It’s appreciated and I think all the work that’s been put in – if I had to do it again, I’d do it again. All the work put in, it was well worth it.”
“It was a tremendous amount of fun,” he added about his career. “Some sorry moments, but that’s a part of the game and a part of life. You can’t always stay down there at the bottom of the barrel knowing that the road traveled was one of trying to succeed. As [former Steelers] Coach [Bill] Cowher said, he’s won more games with me than any other quarterback over the course of his career. That’s something to be proud of.”
Stewart’s football career has many layers, as he alluded to earlier. As a standout at Colorado, he had tremendous arm talent, but also possessed the speed and agility to be a “Hall of Fame wide receiver,” which he said the Steelers told him he could be.
But playing quarterback is what he felt his calling was on the gridiron, and he stuck to that belief from the very start until the end. However, to get playing time after the Steelers drafted him in the second round, Stewart did what was needed. The nickname “Slash” followed after Cowher put him “Quarterback/Wide Receiver” on the roster.
Stewart, though, wanted to eventually shake that thought out of the Steelers’ mind, as he continued to prove his worth as the team’s starting quarterback.
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In 1997, Stewart went 11-5 as a starter, eventually reaching the AFC Championship Game before falling short of the Super Bowl. Everything seemed to be going well, but with key coaching changes, especially offensive coordinator Chan Gailey leaving, Stewart was struggling to find consistency on the field.
Compound that with the rumors circulating, and you would understand if Stewart started to spiral. Instead, he took all of it with grace.
The word-of-mouth rumor was allegedly traced back to a Pittsburgh police officer, though Stewart doesn’t know who exactly it was to this day. He still can’t understand why someone, especially a Steelers fan, would do such a thing.
“I mean, really? For real bro, that’s how low we went because of the disdained taste that many may have had in their mouths, their minds and their spirits of me being the face of that organization at the quarterback position,” he said. “That makes me want to go back in time and do it again. Because you weren’t going to move me off my spot of what I believed in and knew what I could do. So, the what ifs don’t stick with me because I did my part.
“If we’re standing on the only thing I couldn’t do was win a Super Bowl – look at Dan Marino. Look at Dan Fouts. Look at Warren Moon, who has a yellow jacket. If that’s the only problem that I have – people are going to pick other stuff. But holistically, if that’s the only issue I had, I was a great quarterback in that city and in the National Football League considering four of those five years. I had different coordinators and had to go through that stuff that you just talked about. Bro, come on. The normal person couldn’t handle that and still be consciously aware and articulating and comfortable and laughing and smiling and having a great time to where you’re prepared to want to tell the story 28 years to Nov. 1 this year that this story is finally being told.”
Today, 54-year-old Stewart continues to love the game of football, serving as the volunteer offensive coordinator for the South Forsyth War Eagles high school football team in Cumming, Georgia.
And he also makes it quite clear he would like the Steelers to show some respect to his career outside of weathering the storm on and off the field.
Stewart was the first player in NFL history to throw for 20-plus touchdowns (21) and rush for 10-plus touchdowns (11) in the same season. He also sits third all-time in passing yards in Steelers history, and his 2,561 rushing yards are the most by a quarterback in franchise history.
“People want to segregate it and make it about what I didn’t do as a quarterback,” he explained. “The body of work and the totality of the stuff I did in that city, you can’t throw that away. You can try to because you want to stick to what you want to stick to, and sometimes the traditional ways we want to believe what we want to believe.
“But the reality is no one has ever done before, and will not ever have to play the game that way – full-time at receiver, become the best quarterback, and then it be talked about in a way we will have to learn how to because that impact on the game has changed the game so much.
“It is what it is. God blessed the chance to work in that beautiful city, a very historical football team, a ton of history there. I’m proud of the run I had in that city. I hope those can become proud considering I handle myself at the highest levels and never turned my back on anything other than that foolishness that was talked about. When it came to the organization – my teammates, the game, my coaches, and the fans who appreciated that run – I appreciate you guys, man. If I had to do it again, I promise you I’d do it again. I wouldn’t change nothing.”