Kordell Stewart told his side of ‘that story’ for The Players’ Tribune

Kordell Stewart tells his side of “that story”, the one back in 1998 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kordell Stewart was a sensational football player in college with the Colorado Buffaloes and most notably, professionally with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Slash” was a huge part of the Steelers’ success in the late 1990s to early 2000s. While he was AFC Offensive Player of the Year and earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2001, his career was nearly derailed in 1998. Blatant lies about him committing lewd acts in a park is a reflection of how much football, and life in general, has changed. He tells The Players’ Tribune his side of “that story.”

"[Dr. Frank Sessoms] said, “Listen, I was about to bust somebody upside the head with this cane after what I just heard. Look, man … are you sitting down?”I said, “No, I’m standing up talking on the phone with you. What’s going on?”He said, “Man, somebody told me you got arrested.”I said, “Arrested? I’ve never been arrested in my life. What are you talking about, old man? Stop messing with me. I gotta watch this movie. I’ll call you later.”“No, listen. That’s not it. They said you got caught in the park doing uh….”“Doing what?”“Lewd acts with uhh….”“Lewd what? With who?”“Listen, this is crazy. But I’m just telling you what they were saying in the barbershop. They said you were having lewd acts performed on you. In the park. And you got locked up. And look, man … I’m just telling you, they’re saying that you’re gay. They’re saying a whole lot of stuff.”"

Kordell Stewart said this was easily the hardest experience of his life

It was a hateful rumor planted by a pre-Twitter troll who was actually a Pittsburgh cop. Telling a lie that Stewart was arrested for committing lewd acts in a park with another man could have destroyed his career. People were not as tolerant back in the late 1990s. Stewart wishes he would have gone about handling the entire situation differently. The whole thing hurt him deeply.

The hardest part for him was that some people wanted this to be true. Steelers fans loved him as “Slash” only two years prior, now some were willing to turn on him and believe the lie he was a homosexual, which, at the time, was not as embraced as it is today. Again, 1998 is a long time from 2021.

Stewart would play with the Steelers through 2002, spending three more years in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens.

Check out Kordell Stewart’s entire article on The Players’ Tribune. It is worth the read for sure.