Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Bruce Pearl (Men's Head Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee)

From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Series: Voices on Antisemitism
Length: 04:07

Bruce Pearl's efforts at team-building extend beyond the court, where he tries to bridge religious and cultural differences among his players. Read the full description.

Voa_small Bruce Pearl's efforts at team-building extend beyond the court, where he tries to bridge religious and cultural differences among his players.

"As a basketball coach, I'm a visible person. And I think in most cases, I am the first Jewish person that most of my players have met.

But I gotta' tell you, when we pray, and we talk about God, I think they find some common ground with messages that they heard growing up."

To hear the full audio, sign up for a free PRX account or log in.

Also in the Voices on Antisemitism series

Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Tracy Strong, Jr. (Former employee, European Student Relief Fund) (05:14)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

In 1940, Tracy Strong left the relative safety of America to help students displaced by the war in Europe to continue their studies. While uncomfortable with the title ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Rebecca Dupas (English teacher, Friendly High School, Fort Washington, Ma... (05:58)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

As a senior in high school, Rebecca Dupas took part in a program sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, called Bringing the Lessons Home. The program teaches young ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Scott Simon (Journalist) (03:56)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum mourns the tragic death of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who died heroically in the line of duty on June 10, 2009, protecting our ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Sadia Shepard (Author) (06:43)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Sadia Shepard's book The Girl from Foreign documents her travels to India to connect with the tiny Jewish community there and to unlock her family's history. The trip and the ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Gregory S. Gordon (Director, Center for Human Rights & Genocide Studies a... (05:41)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Gregory Gordon helped to prosecute the landmark "media" cases in Rwanda–where hate speech, broadcast over the radio, was directly linked to the genocide of the Tutsi people.
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Samia Essabaa (English teacher, Noisy-le-Sec, France) (06:04)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Samia Essabaa was born in France to Moroccan and Tunisian parents. A Muslim, shaped by both Arabic and French culture, Essabaa often feels she can relate to her students, ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: David Pilgrim (Chief Diversity Officer and Professor of Sociology, Ferris... (07:25)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

In 1996, David Pilgrim established the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University in Michigan. As the university's Chief Diversity Officer and a professor of sociology, one ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Sayana Ser (Team Leader, Student Outreach and Cham Oral History Project, ... (04:56)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Sayana Ser was born in Cambodia in 1981, two years after the fall of dictator Pol Pot. Today, Ser works to help her country heal from that genocide. As part of that effort, ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Christopher Leighton (Executive Director, Institute for Christian and Jew... (05:24)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Since 1987, Christopher Leighton has served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. A Presbyterian minister, Leighton is ...
Piece image

Voices on Antisemitism: Daniel Craig (Actor) (04:17)
From: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Actor Daniel Craig is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Agent 007 in the James Bond movies. But his latest film, Defiance, is based on the true story of the Bielski ...

Piece Description

Bruce Pearl's efforts at team-building extend beyond the court, where he tries to bridge religious and cultural differences among his players.

"As a basketball coach, I'm a visible person. And I think in most cases, I am the first Jewish person that most of my players have met.

But I gotta' tell you, when we pray, and we talk about God, I think they find some common ground with messages that they heard growing up."

Broadcast History

Broadcast on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Web site.

Transcript

BRUCE PEARL:
As a basketball coach, I'm a visible person. And I think in most cases, I am the first Jewish person that most of my players have met.

But I gotta' tell you, when we pray, and we talk about God, I think they find some common ground with messages that they heard growing up.

DANIEL GREENE:
In February 2008, Coach Bruce Pearl led the University of Tennessee men's basketball team to the number one ranking in the nation for the first time in the school's history. But his efforts at team-building extend beyond the court, where he tries to bridge religious and cultural differences among his players.

Welcome to Voices on Antisemitism, a free podcast series of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum made possible by generous support from the Oliver and Elizabeth Stanton Foundation. I'm Daniel Greene. Every other week, we invite a guest to reflect about the many ways that antis...
Read the full transcript

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Sevani Tsorgnorsner 35th Parallel Crossing Painted Islands. 2006 00:00

Related Website

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/antisemitism/voices/transcript/?content=20080911