Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl isn’t backing down from his pro-Israel stances, even if it could one day cost him his job. Two months after a Final Four run, the longtime coach is doubling down despite criticism on social media.
“They’re like, look, shut up and coach, shut up and recruit,” Pearl said on this week’s “Being Jewish” podcast. “Half of the comments after I post something about Israel or antisemitism or letting Iran get a nuclear weapon or allowing Israel to finish the job and destroy Hamas, half of it is negative and attacks on me or just ’shut up.’”
The advocacy is a calculated risk, Pearl said. The coach has made six NCAA Tournament appearances in his 11 seasons with the Tigers, leading them to the Final Four in 2019 and 2025. That success brings job security.
“I understand this. If I don’t win, I’m not going to keep my job,” Pearl said. “And if I don’t win, they’re not going to put up with me being on these podcasts or talking about Israel or talking about antisemitism.”
The activism is nothing new for Pearl, who became the first president of the Jewish Coaches Association in 2005. The intensity of the coach’s beliefs has only intensified amid rising tensions — and attacks — between Iran and Israel.
“The world has been negotiating with Iran to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon for years,” Pearl wrote on X on Sunday. “President Trump gave them a chance to dismantle their weapons grade enrichment and they refused.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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