Kordell Stewart wants you to watch new HBO short documentary Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn (Skydance Sports, NFL Films), digest its contents, and then reconsider his professional football career. If you’re feeling especially generous — and if you happen to have a vote — the “Slash” of Slash & Burn would also like to be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, please and thank you.
In 1995, Stewart came out of the University of Colorado with a cannon for an arm, the foot speed and hands of a wideout, and the promise of a whole new prototype: a true running quarterback. (And oh yeah, one “Miracle at Michigan” under his belt.)
“Randall Cunningham brought awareness to the mobile quarterback,” Stewart, who was drafted 60th overall that year by the Pittsburgh Steelers, told The Hollywood Reporter. “I like to say I tore the hinges off the door.”
He did. Stewart was a true phenomenon, a star both on the field and in one of the best forgotten sneaker-chain ad campaigns of all time. (The commercial kids about it, but Stewart actually was the team’s backup punter — and an effective one at times.)
Stewart’s 1997 season, his first as the Steelers’ starting QB, was explosive with 32 combined passing and rushing touchdowns. In 2001, Stewart made the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in the league’s MVP voting. And then the rumor happened.
To this day, no one knows who started it, but Stewart’s camp believes it originated from within the Pittsburgh Police Department. The rumor alleged that Stewart was caught and arrested for engaging in a lewd act with another man in a local park. But here’s the thing: the arrest never happened and the rumor, investigated by the Steelers organization, was never substantiated. Though Stewart denied then and denies now that the act ever took place, the idea that the Steel City’s star quarterback was gay lingered in the mid-90s blue-collar town. It was a major distraction to say the least, Stewart says.
His career was never the same. Stewart would soon lose his starting job and bounce to the Chicago Bears (and lose that starting job), until ultimately finishing his football life as a backup for the Baltimore Ravens. It was a real “What-could-have-been?” NFL tenure. (One thing legendary Steelers coach Bill Cowher says could have been is Stewart could have been a Hall of Fame wide receiver if he switched positions earlier and committed; Stewart concurs.)
I was a Kordell Stewart fan (but go Giants!) and I don’t even remember the rumor. That’s probably because I a) was nowhere near Pittsburgh and b) Stewart, a young man at the time, handled the controversial (at the time) rumor with grace. If the rumor had ever truly entered the NFL zeitgeist, it had long since left it — so why call attention to a forgotten allegation by making a documentary?
“That’s the part that I hear so many people say: ‘Why would you want to talk about that?’ Not everybody knew about it, but it impacted my career,” Stewart explained.
Stewart, who says he is not gay or bisexual, felt he had to “stay quiet” about the rumor as a player. A strong public denial might only fan the flames. Maybe it would insult the gay community. One thing was for sure, it wouldn’t put the ball in the end zone — why bother?
“I never had a chance to really express this,” he said, calling the Brian Rivera-directed short “unique and cathartic.”
“This was needed, bro,” he continued. “It needed to be said because I think all the fans that wore my jersey that were bullied back in the day — to my family members — had to answer questions.”
Again, it was a different time.
There is also the selfish reason Stewart says he has been trying to get this documentary made since 2010 — and he cops to it. Stewart believes fans and observers were not and still are not able to “really identify my career the right way.”
Watch the tape, Stewart says, and weigh what was weighing on him.
“I’d like to get a yellow jacket. I’m not talking about a suit that I wore in my era that I want to buy, you know? I’m talking about the real life,” Stewart said, referring to the gold sports coat given to all Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. “When you write this, and I’m gonna try to persuade you to say this: ‘Like, if this dude did this then, and we saying he’s way ahead of his time, then what type of greatness is this? Is this upper-room greatness?'”
Now Slash wants to add “/editor” to his résumé.
Stewart borrowed the “upper room” term from another absolute freak-of-nature, multi-position (and multi-sport even) generational athlete, Deion Sanders, who is represented by a bronze bust in the Canton, Ohio museum. (Sanders, who simultaneously played NFL football and Major League Baseball is not in the MLB Hall of Fame.)
Sanders has proposed an “upper room” at the Pro Football Hall of Fame reserved for the greatest of the greats, himself included of course, arguing that the general barrier to entry has become too low.
Stewart’s career stats now read: 14,746 passing yards, 120 total touchdowns, and one HBO documentary.
Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn premieres today on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.