Class act.
Last week, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl surprised the media following the Tigers’ NCAA tournament win over Creighton on Saturday when he opened up his postgame press conference with a plea for the return of Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists:
“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years. 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.”
Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States, was taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas while serving on the Gaza border. Since being inaugurated, President Donald Trump has made the return of Alexander one of his top priorities in resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and has negotiated directly with Hamas to attempt to broker a ceasefire that would allow for the return of the remaining hostages.
Pearl, meanwhile, is Jewish himself and has been an outspoken supporter of Israel – though many were surprised that he decided to address the issue during his postgame press conference last weekend.
But the coach said he talked it over with his team before making his statement, and that it was important to use his platform to advocate for what he believes in:
“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. 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…
This Jewish American loves his country more than anything else. At the same time, Israel, that is our ancestral homeland and it’s under attack. It’s under siege. All it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors.”
And tonight, he took his advocacy a step further, inviting the family of Edan Alexander to Auburn’s Sweet Sixteen game against the Michigan Wolverines.
Alexander’s father Adi and his brother Roy were shown on the broadcast sitting courtside with Pearl’s family, and though they were guests of the Auburn coach, Michigan player Danny Wolf also took some time to meet with the Alexanders ahead of the matchup.
Auburn head coach, Bruce Pearl, invited the family members of the hostage held in Gaza, the American Edan Alexander, to come visit the game and also get a photo with their favorite player, which is Danny Wolf, from Michigan Wolverines.
What a lovely guy. pic.twitter.com/GR9L6dmOSJ
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) March 29, 2025
A class act. And as many on social media pointed out, Pearl’s advocacy for Alexander may have been the first time that many people had even learned that an American citizen was still being held hostage in Gaza, no doubt bringing greater attention to the cause and to the fight to bring him home.
Good for Bruce Pearl and Danny Wolfe. And hopefully Edan Alexander gets to come home sooner rather than later.
The post Bruce Pearl Invites Family Of Israeli-American Being Held Hostage By Hamas To Auburn’s Sweet Sixteen Game Against Michigan first appeared on Whiskey Riff.