HBO's "Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn" opens in Schenley Park, where the former Steelers quarterback, now 54, revisits a place tied to a rumor that spread through Pittsburgh in 1998. The film uses that moment to examine how his versatility, his race and public perception combined to limit his career in the city.
A Quarterback Judged by the Wrong Yardstick
Stewart entered the NFL as a multi-position athlete, lining up at wide receiver as a rookie and earning the nickname "Slash." In the documentary, he says that reputation followed him once he became a starter, so that every struggle at quarterback seemed to confirm that he was "just an athlete." The film presents that label as a consequence of how the league and its fans viewed dual-threat players in the 1990s, when pro-style pocket passers were the accepted model.
His record as a starter complicates the story. Under Chan Gailey, Stewart threw for more than 3,000 yards and led the Steelers to the 1997 AFC championship game. After Gailey left, the team hired Ray Sherman, who ran a pro-style offense rather than building around Stewart's skills. Stewart did not return to his earlier form until 2001, when Mike Mularkey's system emphasized his athleticism; he threw for a career-best 3,109 yards, earned a Pro Bowl selection and again reached the AFC title game.
Race, Hostility and the Rumor
The documentary places Stewart's experience within Pittsburgh's racial history. He was only the second Black quarterback to start for the Steelers, after Joe Gilliam in 1974. Jerome Bettis, a teammate, says on camera that the city was not comfortable with a Black quarterback at the time. The film recounts an incident at Three Rivers Stadium on Nov. 1, 1998, when a fan poured beer on Stewart and directed a racial slur at him after a loss to the Tennessee Oilers.
In the days that followed, a false rumor about Stewart's private life circulated widely. Stewart was required to address it with the team, and he says people treated him differently afterward. Public records contain no evidence supporting the claim, and he says he had never visited Schenley Park before the documentary was filmed in 2025.
What the Film Asks Fans to Reconsider
The documentary's most pointed argument concerns the line between criticism and personal attack. Stewart's on-field results were uneven, with 84 interceptions against 77 touchdown passes in his career, and the film does not dispute that. Its claim is that poor performance did not justify the rumors, the hostility or the scrutiny of his private life. Whether the Steelers could have won a Super Bowl with more offensive flexibility remains a matter of speculation, and the film leaves that question open.