Auburn's Bruce Pearl Explains Why He Chose NCAA Tourney To Speak On American Hostage Edan Alexander: Exclusive
Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl has never been one to mince his words, or worry about how something he says would be interpreted by the sports world. A man who has won at many different levels, along with leading Auburn into the Sweet Sixteen as the overall No.1 seed, this has been an entertaining year for the Tigers fan base.
Now, after beating Creighton this past weekend in Lexington, the Tigers will take the short trip over to Atlanta to play Michigan for a spot in the Elite Eight. But, basketball is not the only thing on the mind of Bruce Pearl, which was evident by his opening remarks following the win over Creighton.
Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American from New Jersey, is currently being held hostage in Gaza, caught up in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. While there might not be a massive understanding of Alexander’s current situation, Auburn's Bruce Pearl made sure that his name is not forgotten during this time, using his massive platform this past weekend to hopefully put more awareness on the situation.
As his team prepared on Tuesday afternoon to play Michigan on Friday, the Auburn head coach reflected on his opening remarks, and went into further detail on how this was not a ‘politics in sports’ situation. This was about coming together as a country to bring one of our citizens home.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the first half against the Creighton Bluejays in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 22, 2025. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Bruce Pearl Says God Inspired Him To Speak About Edan Alexander
As the Auburn Tigers wrapped up their game with Creighton, Bruce Pearl and a few members of the team headed to the postgame press conference. But there was something on the mind of Pearl, who has not been hesitant to post his thoughts about the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
For the Tigers head coach, he knew there was an American being held hostage in Gaza, and he wanted the world to know that Edan Alexander should not be an afterthought right now. So, he asked his players if it would be OK to open the press conference with a statement about Alexander, knowing that he had the platform to raise awareness.
That was all his players needed to hear, and at that moment, something came over Bruce Pearl that he thought was the best time to voice his concerns.
"I had no idea I was going to do that," Bruce Pearl explained. "You're walking from the locker room to the press conference, and you're walking through the bowels of the building, and you're thanking the Lord, ‘God, what a blessing, thank you for this blessing’, and I don't know what came over me or what I heard. I thought of Edan Alexander. I thought I had his name right. I even checked on Google. I wanted to get the pronunciation of his name right.
"And I said to our guys, we've given God this glory all season long. I said, ‘Guys, this has just come to me right now, while we’re celebrating, there's an American being held hostage in Gaza, and would you guys mind terribly if I brought out his name'. Tahaad (Pettiford) was like ‘No coach, he’s an American', and Tahaad actually knew he was from New Jersey. They jumped on it right away, saying no problem."
Let me know what you think about Bruce Pearl and his comments today. Email me at Trey.Wallace@Outkick.com
This Was Not About Politics In Sports, It Was ‘Good Versus Evil’
Obviously, there is a vocal section of the country that thinks politics should be separated from sports. But for Bruce Pearl, this had nothing to do with that. This was about ‘good versus evil’, along with just doing the right thing.
"Trey, it's not politics at all, it's survival. It's survival. I'm a Jewish-American, and I'm so grateful to this country for saving my family's life," Bruce Pearl discussed with me. "My grandfather came to this country when he was eleven years old in 1929. My Grandfather told me what it was like, and he became a United States Citizen when he was 32-years-old, and said it was the greatest day of his life. My grandfather died unfortunately when I was 13-years-old, but he told me a lot about this country and how much it meant to him, our family and our survival as being Jewish, being able to practice our faith.
"So, somehow it obviously came to me, and I'm grateful that I live in a country where there is freedom of speech, and we can express these things. I just wanted to express more than anything our gratitude. But also, remind people you don't know his name. He's an American, he's being held hostage. You know what Trey, I think in the next week or two, I think God is hearing our prayers. I don't want to make any predictions, I just pray there's going to be some movement there, and that Edan (Alexander) gets to go home and be with his family."
For Pearl, he's grateful for everything America has done for him and his family, but none of this is about politics at the end of the day.
"It's nothing about politics, it's just good versus evil, and right versus wrong, and survival."
AUBURN, Ala. - Bruce Pearl head coach of the Auburn Tigers gestures to the crowd prior to a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena on March 8, 2025. (Photo by Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Bruce Pearl Likes Timing Of Transfer Portal, But Rules Need To Be Established
As Auburn prepares for Michigan on Friday night, the transfer portal is currently being inundated with prospects looking for a new home. According to reports, more than 700 players hit the portal over the past 24 hours, which is crazy to think about.
But, as the Tigers look for a way to advance to the Elite Eight, the coaching staff is also making sure to take care of next year's roster during a hectic time that Pearl doesn’t seem to mind one bit.
"It's a good problem to have, Trey. By the way, I'm OK with the timing of this," Bruce Pearl noted about timing of the portal. "Yes, we have sixteen teams with a lot going on right now. Don't worry about us, we'll make contact with the players we need to make with. If they want to look at our programs, they will.
"But to wait until after the Final Four, you've got kids now for four weeks after their season has ended, having to wait until they can get themselves into the transfer portal, and that's not fair also. By moving it to this point right now, everyone can get into positions to rebuild and reload their rosters. I'm in favor of a one-time transfer. I've always had a transfer in my program sitting out, to get ahead academically, physically, what an extra year can mean for player development physically and mentally."
Auburn's Bruce Pearl speaks with the media before his team starts the NCAA
As for players transferring every single year, that is something Bruce Pearl is not in favor of, especially when you consider what it does to a player academically, along with free-agency in college athletics.
"I'm not in favor of this every single year, and you get to be eligible right away," Pearl explained. "All it's done is create free-agency. Every time you transfer from one school to the next, you lose graduation hours. Not everything transfers with you. What needs to be studied in this transfer portal is how many kids aren't graduating at four schools in four years, and they are halfway through any kind of meaningful degree. And that's where the courts need to balance between the rights of individuals, and what's best for our young people.
"And you can't tell me that's what's best for our young people is creating a set of rules that simply do not let them or allow them to really focus on as student-athletes, and that's a real problem."
If there's one thing for certain about Bruce Pearl, it's that, no matter the subject, the Auburn head coach is going to have a strong opinion. In this case, as he prepares his team for another round of NCAA Tournament action, there is a lot on the mind of Pearl, and he doesn’t have a problem letting the world inside his brain.
Let me know what you think about Bruce Pearl and his comments today. Email me at Trey.Wallace@Outkick.com