Auburn announces death of Bruce Pearl's father, Bernie

On Thursday, Auburn Athletics announced some sad news pertaining to head men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl. They revealed that Pearl’s father, Bernie Pearl, had died this past Wednesday. Here was that news:

“Bernie Pearl passed away Wednesday after a brief illness at the age of 88,” read the team website. “The Pearl family will honor its patriarch at a memorial service at Schlossberg Family’s Chapel on the Hill in Boston.”

The article containing the news also included some comments from Coach Pearl on his late father.

“He never met a stranger. My little personality is nothing compared to the real BP,” Pearl said, noting his connection with his father, even in the later years. “I spoke to my dad every single day for the last four or five years of his life,” Pearl added. “He was my best friend and he was my biggest fan, unabashedly.”

Coach Pearl continued to explain who his father was as a person: “A really good person. Loved his family first, loved his country, was a really hard worker. My dad worked six days a week his entire career to make sure the family had everything we needed.

Pearl shared that his father had great pride in his Jewish background.

“He loved his Jewish heritage,” Pearl explained. “It broke his heart knowing what happened in the Holocaust; it scarred my dad forever, having lost family. He wore it on his sleeve like he had a number carved on his forearm.”

In addition to that passion, the elder Pearl was also a Boston man, per his son. He apparently was quite loyal to the local pro sports teams and held a sharp grudge against the clubs from a slightly larger town further south.

“Daddy was a huge Boston sports fan,” Pearl added. “Anything Boston. Born and raised there, went to Northeastern University. He loved Boston and hated all the New York teams.”

But of course, Bernie Pearl had to extend his fandom down to the Auburn Tigers when his son got the opportunity to coach the basketball team.

“He was a loyal guy. He was grateful to Auburn for giving our whole family the opportunity to lead this basketball program. He watched or listened to every single game.”

Prayers to Bruce Pearl and his family on the passing of Bernie Pearl. The Auburn coach clearly had a great connection with his father and losing a parent is never easy.