The debut episode of The Lou Holtz Show released on Thursday, with Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl serving as the new podcast’s first guest.
And while the podcast — which is produced by the Donald Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute think tank — has billed itself as nonpartisan, there were a number of topics discussed on the pilot episode that could be considered political in nature.
One such subject came as Holtz asked Pearl about antisemitism on college campuses. Pearl — who is Jewish — agreed that it is a problem, before proceeding to blame the teachings that occur in such settings.
“When I was a freshman at Boston College, I took a political science class, had a great teacher. And he exposed me to some things that I hadn’t been exposed to before. And one of the things that he exposed me to was the greatness of pure socialism,” Pearl said. “Coach, you’re a coach. You want all ships to rise. You want everybody to do well. You want every man or woman to have the opportunity to be great. And so if you look at pure socialism for what it is, just the whole kibbutz idea, it sounds great. Except it doesn’t work, in reality. It just doesn’t. I wish it would, but it doesn’t work.
“I work every single day because I want to be successful. I want to do well for my family. I wouldn’t work every single day if I was making the same as everybody else. I just wouldn’t. I honestly think, coach, one of the reasons why antisemitism is so prevalent right now, I think on college campuses, they’re still teaching a socialist approach. That they don’t believe in capitalism. They don’t believe in the trickledown theory.
“Partly sometimes, is because those that are out there killing it and doing really well have taken risks and taken chances and been in the real world and had great ups and downs and lived that dream. And then some people that are in education, they haven’t actually gone to that extent. They haven’t done it outside of the classroom. And I don’t know what it is, but I do know that our college campuses are filled with people that believe in more of that kind of a society. They don’t believe in democracy or capitalism.”
What does any of that have to do with antisemitism?
“The Jews, if it wasn’t for the opportunity to be able to go out there and do business and do things along those lines, they wouldn’t be successful,” Pearl continued. “There’s a very small group of people who have managed to survive since the beginning of time, somehow that’s a threat to others.”
The 63-year-old’s thoughts on the subject didn’t stop there, as he proceeded plead with the Jewish community to not “add to the stereotype.”
“Do everything you can to break that stereotype. When guys like [Bernie] Madoff or some of these other people that are Jewish rip off the world and steal their money and act certain ways, then we contribute to that,” Pearl said. “Don’t be a bad landlord. Don’t get into a bad business deal where you win and they lose. A good business deal [is] when it’s fair for everybody. So I challenge my Jewish brothers and sisters to try to live that life accordingly.”
Holtz agreed and proceeded to go on his own rant about victim mentalities before seamlessly transitioning into a conversation about March Madness.
As a Jewish man who has spent the majority of his career on college campuses, Pearl certainly entitled to his opinion and perspective. But the ideas that “socialist” teachings on college campuses are to blame for antisemitism and that the actions of criminals Madoff are in any way a reflection of the Jewish community are certainly more than questionable.
As for the rest of the podcast, there’s also a lengthy discussion of the state of the Middle East. Otherwise, it’s largely what you would expect from a conversation between an octogenarian former head coach and a baby boomer current head coach.
Following Thursday’s debut, The Lou Holtz Show will release every other week. Future guests include former Notre Dame star and Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown, U.S. Senator and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, three-time national champion football coach Urban Meyer and LIV golfer Ian Poulter.
