Harvey Updyke, the Auburn tree poisoner, to do a dunk tank for charity
Harvey Updyke is back in the public eye and this time it's for something good.
The man who poisoned the oaks at Auburn's Toomer's Corner is going to do a dunk tank for charity in September. The event will be September 27 in Mobile, Ala., and Updyke will be available not only for the dunk tank but for people to throw pies at his face as well.
"He thought about it and thought about it," his wife Elva Updyke told ESPN.com. "His daughter said he needed to do it because it will show that he's not as big of a nut as some people believe. He told them they can do whatever they want to him if it will raise money for kids."
The event is run by T.J. Hodges, who is raising money for the family of John Oliver, a terminally ill child in Mobile. Oliver had cancer and died in July. According to Hodges, former Alabama QB AJ McCarron and his mother Dee Dee Bonner are also helping organize the event.
The huge Alabama fan poisoned the oaks in 2011 after Auburn beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Auburn won the BCS Championship Game that season and Cam Newton won the Heisman.) He called in to the Paul Finebaum Show to admit his crime under an alias and served six months in prison before and after his sentencing in March 2013. He was released in June 2013.
The Updykes have children named Bear and Crimson Tyde.
Updyke currently lives in Lousiana and is barred from attending a college sporting event ever again. He also was ordered to pay Auburn $800,000 in restitution for the tree poisoning. Oh, and he can't go to Auburn ever again. Though our guess is that unless Updyke shaved off his facial hair and went there under a heavy disguise, there's no chance he wouldn't be noticed.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
