Auburn coach Bruce Pearl says he wasn’t mixing politics with sports last week when he called for the release of an American hostage in Gaza.

Bruce Pearl did not initially intend on opening his Saturday press conference by advocating for the release of Eden Alexander, the lone American hostage believed to be alive in Gaza. Then divine intervention kicked in, the Auburn coach said during a “Fox & Friends” appearance Monday morning.

Bruce Pearl, whose Auburn men’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this weekend, opened his postgame press conference by calling to “bring the hostages home.”