Kordell’s players tribune article

[t-man]

I was born and raised in Westmoreland County, but moved away in 1990 when I joined the Air Force. I remember the rumors...Kordell got caught in Schenley park...blah, blah, blah. I believed it. Most people did...because nobody was really disputing it. Ah...the days before the internet.

I also remember coming home from leave one year...maybe around 2000 or so I went into a local town bar...small town people, mostly laborers hanging out on a weekend night. Being away from SWPA for 10 years at that point, you “forget” things. One thing that sticks with me to this day, when I went into this local bar (the Steelers were on the TV in the news) and people (plural) kept yelling (speaking loudly in a bar), “This N***** Quarterback”, “That N***** QB”. And never...not once...did anyone say something bad about Kordell following those words. IT JUST HOW THEY TALKED. It shocked me. I grew up in that environment, but it wasn’t until I moved away for 10 years did I recognize it once I heard it.

I say that to address this, “ Man, you have to understand, I’m a young Black quarterback in a blue-collar town. Being the target of those kinds of rumors? At that time? In that era? In that NFL?
Come on, man. You know what it was.
It’s sad to say, but at that time, it was a death sentence. ”

That’s bull crap. People in SWPA are, for the most part, genuine, friendly people. Even those that live in their bubble and don’t recognize perhaps their own racism are not the even people the article portrays them to be. Racism is vile and intolerable, but to make a leap and say that his life was in danger...I think that’s kind of a stretch,

I think he meant death to his place on the team, etc. I don't think he actually meant they would drag him out and kill him, but, remember, this is around the same time a group did exactly that to a gay man in the united states. That's part of what made the hate crimes bill a law.

Joe

 

[SteelerSask2]

I would imagine the rumors did not help his psyche. This is about 10 years after high school for me. Basically gay or *** was every second word out of a grade 10 guys mouth and it wasn't positive. I can see the team's reaction and his feelings about it. It was a different time and place in the world. Some for the worse and some for the better.

 

[Chuck]

It was a good article. I read it yesterday when it came up in my Facebook news feed.

Korky gets the last say. It was some bullshit that was done to him and whoever started that rumor deserves a big beatdown of karma, but as others have said, Slash could have been a hall of famer, but was betrayed by his ego. It's a sad tale. Reading his words, it seems that ego is still a problem of his.

It made good posting fodder for a couple of years though. Wonder if "Thee Apologist" is still around, LOL!

 

[SteelerSask2]

It was a good article. I read it yesterday when it came up in my Facebook news feed.

Korky gets the last say. It was some bullshit that was done to him and whoever started that rumor deserves a big beatdown of karma, but as others have said, Slash could have been a hall of famer, but was betrayed by his ego. It's a sad tale. Reading his words, it seems that ego is still a problem of his.

It made good posting fodder for a couple of years though. Wonder if "Thee Apologist" is still around, LOL!

Could have been a hall of famer is a massive stretch. He was shifty in the open field and had good straight line speed. He was unpolished in route running as he would be. HOF material is pretty much a number one out of the gate. Kordell was a good slot option. As a QB he had a good feel for coverage as you would expect.

 

[Coryea]

Could have been a hall of famer is a massive stretch. He was shifty in the open field and had good straight line speed. He was unpolished in route running as he would be. HOF material is pretty much a number one out of the gate. Kordell was a good slot option. As a QB he had a good feel for coverage as you would expect.

I posted earlier, I don't buy for a second he'd be a HOF WR. He was used as a #3/#4 WR, and on gadget plays, so he wasn't going against many of the opponents top CB's. He didn't have great spreed and was 6'1", and how much WR did he play prior to us using him that way, he wouldn't do well vs teams to CB's.

 

[Stainless]

I will never forget my fantasy league’s 1997 draft when someone picking right before me took Kordell. I was locked & loaded. That had to be the pick of that draft. I wish I could remember what round that was because I’m thinking there’s no way it was the first, but it may have been. Where does the time go?

 

[SteelerSask2]

I posted earlier, I don't buy for a second he'd be a HOF WR. He was used as a #3/#4 WR, and on gadget plays, so he wasn't going against many of the opponents top CB's. He didn't have great spreed and was 6'1", and how much WR did he play prior to us using him that way, he wouldn't do well vs teams to CB's.

I can't say Chase Claypool is a HOF or even close and look how much more polished and tangible traits he has.

 

[thesteelcity]

I liked Kordell and wanted him to succeed. I heard the rumors and didn't really care if they were true or not. Figured they were made up to bring him down. Like every fan base, Pittsburgh esp,, it's a "what have you done lately?" city. Kordell was good at times, but when he was bad, he was really bad. It happens to many QBs. Even Ben has/had really terrible performances. Slash was ahead of his time and I don't think he was used properly, at times. Maybe they didn't know how to utilize his strengths and wanted him to be a conventional QB. You can't keep a race horse on a Merry-Go-Round and think he'll be content.
It's a real disgrace how he was treated by his own fans and city. For that, he is owed an apology. I'm glad he is doing good and didn't run away. He deserved better. As a human being, a Steeler, he deserved a lot better!

 

[topseed]

Nice article, but to me it reeks of Kordell making an unnecessary excuse, all these years later, for his lackluster career. Anybody who is this proud of simply making it to conference championship games was never meant to lead from the quarterback position.