Bruce Pearl said Monday he was thanking God for the blessing he and the Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team received when he thought of the idea of speaking up for Edan Alexander – an Israeli-American held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Pearl went viral on Saturday night when he spoke out during the team’s postgame press conference following a win against Creighton to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
He explained why he decided to speak out during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“I was going to go to the press conference and talk just about the game, but I was walking down the hall with my players and it came to me,” he said. “I was thanking God for the blessings that we’ve had. And in some ways, he spoke to me. He said, ‘remember where you came from. Take advantage of this opportunity.’
“So, I asked the guys, ‘Guys, if it’s OK if I bring up in Edan Alexander’s name. The only American that we believe is still alive, held hostage.’ They said, ‘Coach, there’s an American held hostage. We know how much you care about it. Absolutely. Mention his name.’”
Pearl explained that he believed Jewish people in the United States are the silent majority, and it breaks their hearts to see protests in favor of Hamas.
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“It breaks the hearts of the Israelis when they see the protests in our country and people supporting Hamas and supporting this terrorism,” he said. “We are so close to peace in the Middle East with some wonderful Arab nations that want to support the Abraham Accords. But there’s a segment of the population that, since Israel’s existence, has wanted the Jews to be dead from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River and calling for an intifada. Well, that’s just a call for violence and the death to Jews. And we are a silent majority in this country.
“And so, I just feel like so much of our success at Auburn has been because we pray first. We thank God for, you know, for the blessings. And, and I’m grateful to be a citizen’s country and be Jewish. We got to call out the difference between this good and this evil.”
Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American solider, is one of the 59 hostages still in Gaza. More than half of the hostages being held by Hamas terrorists are believed to be dead.
Hamas said it would release Alexander and the bodies of four hostages held there since its Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack if Israel recommitted to a ceasefire agreement.
“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said on Saturday. “But for me, I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success, success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give us an opportunity to start this conference briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now. An American held hostage and not enough people in this country know his name.”
Pearl was asked why he felt the need to speak out about the hostages.
“Oct. 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they say they want to do it again and again and again. We have American hostages in Gaza right now, and it’s unacceptable,” Pearl said. “And President Trump called it out, and said if they just free the hostages, the killing would stop. Free the hostages, and the killing will stop, and that’s up to Hamas.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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