Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl used his postgame press conference on Saturday night to advocate for the release of Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage held in Gaza. Following Auburn’s 82-70 victory over Creighton, Pearl, who is Jewish, opened his remarks by calling attention to Alexander’s plight, explaining that he first sought his players' permission to speak on the issue. “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.” When asked why he decided to address the hostage crisis and the war in Gaza, Pearl replied, “October 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.” He stressed, “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.” Pearl’s comments came a day after Adi Alexander, the father of Edan Alexander, said he is more hopeful about the American government's chances of bringing his son home than the Israeli government's. Speaking with The Associated Press , the elder Alexander stated, “I don’t want to get into who came first, the egg or the chicken." He stated that his message to the Trump administration is, “Just keep this job going.” While he refrained from blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he questioned his actions in the negotiations of phase two of the January ceasefire, which would have seen Edan's release, and believes that US President Donald Trump has been clearer in his focus on freeing the remaining hostages. Related articles: 'It's harder than burying a child' 'Division in the nation gives strength to our enemies' 'No one forgets the hostages for even a moment' Hostage families file suit against Columbia protesters Alexander is among 59 hostages still in captivity. Hamas recently claimed it would release Alexander along with the bodies of four other hostages—captured during the October 7, 2023, massacre—if Israel agreed to revive the ceasefire deal. Ultimately, Hamas refused to release more hostages and rejected US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal. Due to this refusal, Israel launched surprise strikes against terrorist targets in Gaza early Tuesday morning.
