The post on X wasn’t written by us, but it might as well have been. The message was simple yet deeply resonant: This week, we are all Auburn fans.
The accompanying image spoke even louder. Bruce Pearl—Auburn’s larger-than-life head coach, a proud and vocal Jew—wrapped in tefillin, standing beside us at an event with 120 Jewish students at Neville Arena.
Jewish pride in sports isn’t new. Maybe it’s because we’ve had to work a little harder to see ourselves in the arena. Maybe it’s because Jewish kids grow up memorizing the names of every Jewish athlete, hoping to see one of our own make it big. Or maybe it’s the way Jewish parents, regardless of whether they ever picked up a basketball, beam with pride when they see a Jewish athlete or coach on the main stage.
But this? This feels different.
In a Final Four featuring three Jewish head coaches—Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Florida’s Todd Golden alongside Pearl—why is it Bruce who has captured the hearts of Jews everywhere? Why is it Bruce who has become a symbol of Jewish strength and resilience?
More Than a Game
Three and a half years ago, Bruce Pearl approached us with a dream.
“I want to bring my team to Israel.”
While Athletes For Israel had brought several dozen professional athletes, we had never taken a college team. But Bruce had a vision, and he wasn’t going to let it go.
Twenty-four hours later, we gave him the go-ahead.
Auburn became the first college basketball team to take its foreign tour to Israel. Since then, we’ve brought Kansas State and Arizona, with many more schools lined up for the coming summers. But Auburn was the trailblazer.
That trip was unforgettable. We toured, we ate, we laughed. We stood together, overcome with emotion, at Yad Vashem. Christian players traced their faith through the Holy Land, many choosing to be baptized in the Jordan River. We knew, from the moment we touched down, that this trip was special. What we didn’t fully realize then was just how meaningful it would become.
A Leader Who Refuses to Be Silent
Bruce Pearl doesn’t just talk about being Jewish—he lives it. Boldly. Unapologetically.
That was true before October 7th. And in the months since, as antisemitism has surged across the globe, it has been even more true.
While so many public figures have chosen silence, Pearl has chosen to speak. While others tiptoe around the conversation, he has stood up, loudly and unequivocally, for Israel and the Jewish people. He has used his platform fearlessly, never once hesitating to call out hate and demand better.
So yes, this week, we are all Auburn fans. Not just because Auburn is in the Final Four. Not just because their coach is Jewish.
But because Bruce Pearl represents something bigger.
He is a coach madly loved by his players, yet unafraid to take a stand on what matters. He is a Jew proud to be an American—famously ensuring his team is always on the court for the National Anthem—yet deeply connected to Israel, his ancestral homeland. He is a professional at the top of his field, yet never too big to remain authentic to his people.
Bruce Pearl is the kind of leader our community—and our world—desperately needs right now. A Moment Etched in Our Memory
In recent weeks, there have been many viral “Jewish Bruce moments.”
Starting his Sweet 16 press conference talking about Edan Alexander, an American Jew still held hostage by Hamas. Leading our Athletes For Israel student delegation in a resounding Am Yisrael Chai after a victory at Neville Arena. Wrapping tefillin with students after practice.
But one moment stands above the rest.
Kicking off our Athletes For Israel weekend at Auburn, Bruce looked at our students and said: “I have a platform because God wants me to use it.”
This week, we are all Auburn fans because Coach Pearl has not shied away from using that platform. He has stood tall, stood proud, and stood strong.
Coach—let’s go cut some nets. You have the entire Jewish community rooting for you.
By Daniel Posner – Athletes For Israel Founder & CEO
