For NFL fans of a certain age, Kordell Stewart is remembered as an exciting player who starred as "Slash" before becoming a Pro Bowl quarterback, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to two AFC Championship game appearances in the late '90s and early '00s. That's how Stewart wants to be remembered. He doesn't, however, want his career to be defined by a rumor that nearly derailed his career and now takes center stage in HBO's new documentary, "Kordell Stewart/Slash & Burn." "I just wanted people to appreciate my experience of being a Steeler in Pittsburgh," Stewart recently told CBS Sports.
"Not appreciate it from the standpoint of liking, disliking, but just identify it for what it really was. I thought that, truth be told, it was arguably one of the best runs that I can think of where I was able to do so much on the football field that was different than most. All I did was just work. ...
I would like to say I had a lot of success in Pittsburgh, and we had some failures. You know, I'm a glass half full guy. I'm always about being objective and transparent, but also real." For Stewart, what was real was an exciting, two-year stint playing quarterback/receiver/running back/punter (yes, even punter) and six seasons as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback.
The fiction, however, included an unfounded rumor that Stewart had been caught engaging in lewd activity with another male in a city park. The rumor, started by a local police officer, came out just two days after an ugly loss during the 1998 season, a loss that ended with a fan calling Stewart a racial slur and throwing beer at him as he was walking off the field. While there was no merit to the rumor, it lingered over Stewart and the Steelers, who staggered through a 7-9 season.
Things got worse before they got better. Stewart was benched in 1999 and briefly returned to his role as Slash. After starting the 2000 season on the bench, Stewart was returned to the starting lineup with the Steelers sitting at 0-3.
With Stewart at the helm, Pittsburgh went 9-4 that season. He was the last quarterback that season to defeat the Ravens and their historically dominant defense. Stewart and Co. carried that momentum into the 2001 season.
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