Auburn basketball in Israel: The spiritual side of the team's historic trip to the Holy Land
The Auburn Basketball team is currently on an unprecedented trip through the Holy Land that has been mesmerizing for both those participating and many watching from afar.
ESPN's Jay Bilas told the media, “This has an opportunity to be the most significant trip that I’ve ever heard of.”
Bruce Pearl said in a recent interview that it is often recommended to stay as far away from religion and politics as possible, but that he does the opposite. The nation of Israel could be considered the very center of religion and politics in our world.
Far from avoiding the topic of religion, Bruce said that he will take the team to the Jordan River and give them the opportunity to be baptized where Jesus was baptized by John. He has also taken the team to Bethlehem where the team sang Silent Night in the town Jesus was born. Pearl also mentioned he would take them to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed and the sea of Galilee where Jesus performed most of his miracles.
The trip appears to have had a spiritual impact on the players. Freshman Yohan Traore said about the trip so far that there have been “a lot of highlights and touring while getting close to God and learning about each other.”
Dylan Cardwell has been outspoken about the spiritual side of his trip saying, “For me spiritually this is the closest I’ve ever been to God, physically, spiritually, emotionally. I just thank him every day that I can step foot in his Holy Land and the land that he created.”
Cardwell was also moved by both teams praying together after the game stating that “The Bible preaches unity. Even though we competed against each other we are all in it for one thing, we are all in this in unity. That meant the world to me. It shows basketball has no borders.”
Peace in the Middle East
Pearl is very public about his Jewish heritage. In a 2015 interview, he said, “I’m particularly concerned about anti-Semitism around the world. It’s growing very fast. I just want us to be able to get along and respect each other and love each other and tolerate each other’s differences. And that’s been my life’s work.”
The coach took a big step toward that with this trip and says that his vision and dream is to do this every year with a stop in both the United Arab Emirates and Israel and call it the Abraham Accords Cup saying, “How can we contribute to peace in the Middle East? Through normalization.”
Pearl told Paul Finebaum after the game Tuesday that Abraham is the father of all nations, Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Auburn's head coach said his job as a coach is to bring people together and help them get along, and that sports does that.
Of course, conflict in the Middle East runs deep. Last week a Muslim rights group called on Auburn to cancel their trip to Israel. This week, in sharp contrast, Coach Pearl has the team eating lunch at the Head Coach of the Palestinian National Team's home.
Pearl gets a lot of credit for being fun and wildly charismatic. However, this trip to Israel has shown the boldness, brilliance, and conviction behind his fun exterior. To pull off a trip to both the most politically charged and religiously important location in existence is as surprising as it is impressive. We certainly know that these players have gotten the experience of a lifetime.
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