Coral Springs great joins FHSAA Hall Strikers seek financial help
Coral Springs native Steve Hutchinson likely couldn’t have written a better script for how his career played out.
The Broward Sports Hall of Fame memberwas a twotime high school football AllAmerican at Coral Springs and, in college, twice an AllAmerican guard at Michigan. An All-Pro for five of his 12 seasons in the NFL, he went to the Pro Bowl seven times.
Hutchinson, 38, who lives in Nashville, will be among 10 inducted into the FHSAA Hall of Fame today in Gainesville.
“To be among those names of people in Florida high school athletics who havegoneonandset records, not only in football but every sport across the board, that’s ahuge honor,” saidHutchinson, who was named to the county sports hall of fame last year and to the Senior BowlHall of FameinMarch.
In 2007, Hutchinson was named to FHSAA’s All-Century Team that listed the top 33 football players in Florida’s 100-year history of high school football. Theformer first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks blocked for the likes of Shaun Alexander and Adrian Peterson, and was arguably the top guard in the NFL in the mid- and late 2000s.
Hutchinson is part of the 26th class that also includes Alonzo Jefferson and Raymond Bellamy.
Jefferson, one of the greatest speedsters in Florida prep football history, totaled 7,647 all-purpose yards. He earned All-State honors three times and was the Sporting News National Offensive Player of the Year his senior season at Cardinal Newman.
Bellamy, who in 1966 became the first black player to earn a football scholarship from a major university in the Southeast, is also amember of the University of Miami SportsHall of Fame.
Responding to reports that the franchise is in financial difficulty, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers issued a statement late Thursday confirming the club has sought assistance from the North American Soccer League.
“We’vegonetoNASLfor help, and they have embraced us. This will allow us to work toward recycling our ownership with the 2017 NASL season in mind,” the statement read in part.
The release did not directly address reports the Sun Sentinel previously confirmed that principal owner Paulo Cesso informedtheleague that as of Sept. 1 the team would cease meeting payroll and other financial obligations through the end of 2016.
However, Strikers managing director Luis Cuccatti said Thursday night via Twitter: “There’s a difference between dropping all economic responsibility and asking for a loan. … I can say we are 100 percent playing next year in this league under this ownership.”
TheNASL will deal with the Strikers situation and issues with other troubled The Fort Lauderdale Strikers began playing at Central Broward Stadium this year.
franchises during its board of governors meeting next week in Atlanta.
While there have been rumors the Strikers are up for sale, the team’s statement said Cesso “remains committed to this club and community.”
“The Strikers are in the process of recycling our club’s ownership,” the statement said. “This is a natural process in this business. We remain committed to finishing the 2016 NASL campaign, including a push to qualify for our third successive postseason berth, and will compete in the 2017 NASL season.”
Despite the turmoil surrounding their future, the Strikers are performing
well on the field during a seven-game unbeaten streak that has them in contention for the fall season playoffs. They will host the rival Tampa Bay Rowdies tonight at Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill, to where they relocated last month fromtheir original base at Lockhart Stadium.
“The Fort Lauderdale Strikers have a 2-year-old ownership group in a 6-year-old league,” the statement said. “At this point in time, participating in league play costs our organization more money thanwe obtain in return. … In difficult times, the club needs lines of credit and community support to persevere through the difficult periods.
“We acknowledge we have made some mistakes in our expectations and business plan. We need the help of our local Broward County community who embrace this club to get through this difficult time.”
On Friday, Paris SaintGermain Academy Florida — a branch of the powerful French club — announced it would be interested in acquiring the Strikers, with President Ravy Truchot saying his group has already reached out to the current management group.
The NASL released a statement Thursday night, saying the league “and its member owners are passionate about the growth of soccer in North America, and their actions and level of investment the past several years prove that commitment. In recent weeks, the league has been working through an important period in its evolution.
“The league’s dedicated owners remain undaunted in the challenge to reach their long-term goals, and are in the midst of a series of meetings and discussions to ensure that the 2017 season lays the groundwork for anexciting future.”