It was 28 years ago when Kordell Stewart, the starting quarterback for the , 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 , Atlanta and Indianapolis.
It was a rumor â 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.
“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. Its surreal to say the least considering, with storytelling, theres 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 documentarys 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 â 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? Wheres my money, Scott? I need my back pay here, you know what I mean? Sarcastically speaking,” Stewart said. “Its appreciated and I think all the work thats been put in â if I had to do it again, Id 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 thats a part of the game and a part of life. You cant 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, hes won more games with me than any other quarterback over the course of his career. Thats something to be proud of.”
Stewarts 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 teams starting quarterback.
In 1997, Stewart went 11-5 as a starter, eventually reaching the AFC Championship Game before falling short of the Super Bowl. Ev
