Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl turned heads this weekend after he chose to speak about the plight of hostages in Gaza following his team’s thrilling victory against Creighton in the NCAA Tournament.

Rather than focusing solely on the win that propelled the Tigers to the Sweet 16, Pearl used his postgame press conference to highlight the situation of Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American being held hostage by Hamas.

“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 told reporters on Saturday. “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.”

Believed to be the only American hostage still alive in Gaza, 21-year-old Alexander has been in Hamas captivity for 535 days. Though he grew up in New Jersey, Alexander was born in Israel and later returned to join the IDF’s Golani Brigade rather than attending college. He was stationed near Gaza during Hamas’ October 7 assault in 2023, which claimed 1,200 Israeli lives and led to 251 hostages being taken.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Pearl explained his brave and unorthodox decision to bring attention to Alexander’s situation during what would typically be a basketball-focused media session.

“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 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, who is Jewish, also expressed concern that many Jewish Americans feel silenced to speak up due to rising antisemitism.

“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,” he cautioned. “Well, that’s just a call for violence and the death to Jews. And we are a silent majority in this country. We got to call out the difference between this good and this evil.”