Former Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl joined “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” to defend New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft after Kraft banned rapper Macklemore from Gillette Stadium.
Pearl, a prominent Jewish voice in college sports, praised Kraft as a “hero and a patriot” for taking a firm stand against antisemitism.
Speaking with Dakich, Pearl argued that Macklemore’s messaging crosses from political commentary into overt hate speech.
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“I think it’s great to have this discussion,” Pearl said. “Here’s where I want to go with what he said, because it wasn’t just about hating the Jews. ‘Free Palestine,’ to Palestinians or to Arabs, means free Palestine of the Jews. How would you free Palestine of the Jews? Well, you either scare them off, run them off, or murder them.”
Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl during the first half of the South Regional final of the 2025 NCAA Tournament against the Michigan State Spartans at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 30, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
Macklemore performs before an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Seattle. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images) (Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft speaks to the crowd, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, during a Patriots NFL football Send Off rally in Foxborough, Massachusetts, for Super Bowl LX. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
During Ed Sheeran’s tour at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore sparked controversy with anti-Israel rants and his protest track “Hind’s Hall.”
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Kraft subsequently banned him from Gillette Stadium, citing Macklemore’s history of anti-Semitic tropes, including a 2014 Seattle outfit widely condemned as a Hasidic Jewish caricature.
Kraft’s move triggered a wave of venue rejections, forcing tour promoters to drop Macklemore entirely.
Pearl warned that many people repeat activist slogans without understanding their historical weight.
“Free of colonization or free of genocide or whatever terms people use, that’s not what this means,” Pearl stated. “This simply means we’re going to do to the Jews in Palestine like we did to them in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or Iraq.”
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Pearl also addressed chants calling to “globalize the Intifada,” noting that historical Intifadas involved violent attacks targeting civilians on buses, in hotels, and in the streets. “Asking for somebody’s death is not free speech,” Pearl emphasized. “It is hate speech, and it should not be allowed.”
Pearl emphasized that leaders cannot remain silent when witnessing hate.
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Bruce Pearl walks on the field before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on Sept. 27, 2025. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
“We grew up in a time where Dr. King talked about silence as complicity,” Pearl told Dakich. “Therefore, as a coach, when we see something wrong… we take action because our silence as teachers and educators is complicity.”
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Pearl concluded that Kraft showed rare leadership in protecting his community:
“Robert Kraft is the owner of a business. He has a responsibility as a leader in the community. When given the opportunity, he did not remain silent and he went and did something. You know what? Sometimes actions have consequences, but sometimes inaction is actually worse. Robert Kraft is not a coward. He is a hero, and he is a patriot.”
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