Bruce Pearl, the Jewish basketball coach whose Auburn Tigers men’s team advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 over the weekend, opened his postgame presser on Saturday by calling on Hamas to release the 59 hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.
“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,” said Pearl.
“There aren’t enough people in this country that know his name,” stated the coach, adding: “I asked the players if it was OK if I started out this press conference and just called out the name of an American.”
“Bring the hostages home,” insisted Pearl, whom Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum described as “passionate.”
Auburn Tigers men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl made a passionate plea for the return of American hostage Edan Alexander and all the hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) March 23, 2025
Thank you @coachbrucepearl 🙏🏼🎗️#UntilTheLastHostage #BringThemHomeNow https://t.co/YGS1tZHCuZ
Fifty-nine hostages, including Alexander and the bodies of four other U.S. citizens, are still being held captive by Palestinian terrorists, 537 days after the Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in Israel.
According to Israel Defense Forces data, at least 35 of the 59 are dead.
The slain U.S. hostages whose remains are being held by Hamas are civilians Judi Weinstein Haggai and her husband Gadi Haggai, and IDF soldiers Itay Chen and Omer Maxim Neutra.
