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. 

"I had my ups, you know. I had my downs. I never complained. I never blamed. 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. That year, Stewart piloted Pittsburgh to a 13-3 record, the team's best record since 1978. He set a single-season franchise record for completion percentage, was named to the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in league MVP voting. He was also named the Steelers' MVP. 

The Steelers dethroned the Ravens in the AFC divisional round, but they were defeated at home by the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots (who were later punished for stealing opponents' signals, including Pittsburgh's) in the AFC Championship game. The loss hurt, but that season was nonetheless validation for Stewart after all he had been through the previous four years. 

"Oh, it was the greatest," Stewart said of that '01 season. "You know how bad I wanted to go to the Super Bowl that year? Because of all that I had to go through with that rumor and just people doubting me, telling me what I couldn't do and telling me what I should do and not appreciating what I was doing. ... And we came so close." 

Both of Stewart's best seasons (1997 and 2001) ended in AFC Championship games. In both games, the Steelers lost close games to the eventual Super Bowl champions led by iconic quarterbacks in John Elway and Tom Brady. 

"Looking back on it, I'm not going to say I accept it," Stewart said. "But hey, if those are the two guys [I lost to], I don't think that's too bad." 

Those losses are part of Stewart's story in Pittsburgh, but they aren't the story. In Stewart's case, the destination was truly the journey. 

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more exciting season than the Steelers' 1997 campaign, Stewart's first as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback. That season, the Steelers overcame deficits of 21-0 (in Baltimore), 21-7 (against Denver) and were 3-0 in overtime games. That was also the season when then-Steelers coach Bill Cowher nearly tackled a Jaguars player on "Monday Night Football." 

Individually, it was an historic season for the then-25-year-old Stewart. He became the first player in NFL history to throw 20 touchdowns and run for 10 scores in the same season. Stewart also became the first player to throw three touchdowns and run for two scores in multiple games. 

Stewart was part of Pittsburgh's prolific offensive trio that also included Jerome Bettis and Yancey Thigpen. That season, Bettis ran for 1,665 yards, the second-highest single-season total in Steelers history. Thigpen set a then-single-season franchise record for receiving yards (1,398). 

The Steelers' most memorable game that season came in Week 16, a late afternoon game in New England. Against the defending AFC champions, Pittsburgh overcame 14-0 and 21-13 deficits to pull off a stunning, 24-21 win in overtime. Pittsburgh forced overtime after Stewart led a drive that included a fourth-and-7 completion, a touchdown pass on third-and-goal and a successful two-point conversion. 

In overtime, Stewart, under duress, completed a 41-yard pass that set up the game-winning field goal. 

"In the pros, there was not a better moment in my career," Stewart said. 

Moments like that, Stewart said, are what he hopes Steelers fans remember when they think about his career, one that he believes will eventually be immortalized in the Steelers Hall of Honor. 

"For me, playing ball in that city and the things that I had to go through, I think that would really vindicate and cap off a successful run in Pittsburgh," he said. "I think it will do a lot of people proud once that day actually comes. But it's gonna happen, and I'm gonna be here to see it." 

HBO's new original documentary "Kordell Stewart/ Slash & Burn" is now streaming on HBO Max. It tackles Stewart's career and the devastating rumor that has followed him for decades.