On Saturday, following Auburn’s 82-70 NCAA Tournament win over Creighton, Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl began his post-game press conference by calling for the release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, who is being held hostage in Gaza.
“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success, success beyond what we deserve, to give us this platform, to give me an opportunity to start this press conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now.”
During an appearance on Monday’s broadcast of FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” Pearl discussed his decision and credited President Donald Trump for leading the way to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Coach Pearl, congratulations on the win,” host Brian Kilmeade said. “Why was it important for you to say that first?”
Pearl replied, “You know, Brian, 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. You know, 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. The guy says, OK, if I bring up Edan Alexander’s name, the only American that we believe is still alive, held hostage. He said, Coach, there’s an American held hostage. We know how much you care about it. Absolutely mention his name.”
“And what about the impact it’s made?” Kilmeade said. “I mean, it caught our attention. I look at the Jerusalem Post. It’s on the front page of the Jerusalem Post that Bruce Pearl, with millions of people watching, would make those comments.”
“Brian, it breaks the hearts of the Israelis when they see the protests in our — in our country and — and people supporting Hamas and supporting this terrorism,” Pearl said. “We’re 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 in Auburn has been because we pray first. We thank God for, you know, for the blessings. And I’m grateful to be a citizen of this country and be Jewish. And we got a call — we got a call out the difference between this good and this evil. And you know what, Brian? We’re close to getting the hostages home. President Trump is absolutely leading the way, and he’s making this a very clear decision for Hamas. Release the hostages, and there’s a chance for peace. Don’t — and there’s going to be death and destruction, and it’s going to be just awful for everybody.”
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