Until now, Bama Fact Check has stayed away from coverage of the Toomer's Corner tree poisoning. While football permeates every facet of life in Alabama, there was no explicitly political angle to the story. (Though it's a safe bet that the poisoning will generate some action in Montgomery, if only a resolution, when the Legislature starts its session.)

Even so, an article from The Opelika-Auburn News (a Bama Fact Check partner) reminds us that it's not only politicians who lie -- and that politicians' lies are not the only lies that get repeated in the media.

A caller to a popular sports radio show said he'd poisoned the beloved trees because Auburn fans allegedly rolled them in celebration after the death of legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The story has since been repeated in a number of media outlets.

Is there any truth to the claim? The Opelika-Auburn news wasn't able to find any.

From The Opelika-Auburn News -- No evidence Auburn fans rolled Toomers oak after Bryant's death