From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Auburn U basketball coach invites family of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander to watch game
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Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl invites the family of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander to the Michigan game, where they also met their favorite player, Wolverines’ Danny Wolf.
Earlier this week, Pearl opened up a press conference by calling for the release of Alexander along with all remaining captives held in Gaza, saying that not enough people know that there is an American hostage.
“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “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.”
Asked later what made him want to talk about the hostage situation and the Israel-Hamas war, Pearl — an outspoken supporter of US President Donald Trump — referenced his Jewish faith and family’s migration to the US.
“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,” he said. “It’s under siege. All it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors.”
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
The Times of Israel Community.