When last we left my beloved West Virginia Mountaineers, the football program was forced to alter some special Nike uniform graphics to get rid of what apparently was meant to be images of mountaintop removal mining (See previous posts here, here, here and here).

Now, as our state gears up for Sunday’s big WVU-Marshall game, coal and what it means to the state has been brought into the picture again.

First, we had this announcement of something they’re calling the “Mountaineer Mantrip“:

The inaugural West Virginia football Mountaineer Mantrip, a team walk set to rally WVU fans before each home game this season, will make its debut on Sunday, Sept. 4, prior to the No. 24-ranked Mountaineers’ 2011 season opener against Marshall at 3:30 p.

The walk, a nod to the state’s proud coal industry and heritage, will begin when the team is dropped off approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes before kickoff at the corner of the WVU Medical Center and Don Nehlen Drive. Fans are encouraged to line the path, which will take the team and coaching staff, led by head coach Dana Holgorsen, through the blue and light blue lots and to the entrance of the Northeast gate at Milan Puskar Stadium. The team will be escorted by the Mountaineer mascot, the cheerleading squad and members of the Pride of West Virginia, the WVU marching band, on its route.

And then yesterday, this news emerged:

Beginning this weekend and before every subsequent home game, upon entering the stadium, West Virginia Mountaineer players will touch a monument comprised of a very special piece of coal extracted from Upper Big Branch for additional inspiration before hitting Mountaineer Field.

Alpha Natural Resources delivered a 350-pound chunk of coal to Milan Puskar Stadium Wednesday. The coal came from the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners lost their lives on April 5, 2010, Alpha officials confirmed.

Folks who know me well are certainly familiar with my love of Mountaineer football. But it’s also no secret that my university’s often unquestioning allegiance to the coal industry makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s good that the university has people like Dr. Michael Hendryx and his colleagues who understand that part of the role of a university is to shine light on the negative — not just the positive — about a state’s major industries and institutions.

Maybe some folks in the anti-mountaintop removal community will jump on this whole “Mountaineer Mantrip” thing and this business with the lump of coal from Upper Big Branch as just another example of the university getting too far in bed with the coal guys. But gosh, it’s not like they’re having the players rub the boom of a dragline before they head onto the field.

If the idea is to call attention to West Virginia’s ties to the coal industry, and the industry’s positive contributions to our state, I’m not sure that hauling out a symbol of the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in a generation is really what public relations experts would suggest. If anything, a reminder before every home football game of the deadly — and completely preventable — explosion that killed 29 men is really a reminder of all that’s bad about this industry.

The whole thing reminds me a bit of when my friend and former coworker Scott Finn covered an event where former Marshall coach Bob Pruett was trying to talk up the coal industry’s importance to West Virginia (subscription required). Pruett said the industry had played a big role in his life: His father died of black lung and his father-in-law died in a slate fall.

Judging from the public statements from WVU officials, that’s not exactly the sort of symbolism they had in mind …

The Mountaineer Sports Network reported it this way, quoting athletic director Ollie Luck:

“The mantrip symbolizes the work ethic of our state and how folks go to work every day,” adds Luck. “This is the same work ethic that we want our teams to display here at WVU in honor of our fans. Miners take the mantrip into work every day, and our football team will use this mantrip walk to go to work while honoring the coal industry as well as the hardest working state in the country.”

And according to The Daily Athenaeum, WVU’s student newspaper:

“That image of a hard-working miner is something that our coaches like,” said West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck. “They’re going into their workspace. They’re leaving the public and they’re going to work – they’re going into the mine.”

Luck explained to the Beckley paper:

“As the players enter the stadium, there will be nobody in the stadium because the gates will not be open yet,” Luck explained. “The players will touch the coal and walk down to the field. I think the plan is for them to have a brief team meeting at midfield and then go to the locker room to get prepared for the game.

“The symbolism is pretty simple — they’re going to work.”

OK … now, Oliver Luck is not a dumb guy.  He was a Rhodes Scholar finalist and Phi Betta Kappa. He’s got a law degree from the University of Texas. But this is where he went off the tracks on this one.

They’re just going to work?

What Ollie could have said is that the coal industry has been important to West Virginia, and to our country. It fueled the industrial revolution, helped us win a couple of world wars, and it has been what provided a living for thousands of West Virginia families.  But coal’s also had a tremendous downside, killing and crippling thousands of West Virginians, leaving thousands more to die a horrible death from black lung disease. Coal’s not done what it should to reduce its impacts on our rivers, streams, forests, mountains, air and our climate.

If he really wanted to honor our state’s coal miners, Ollie could have just said that no coal miner should have to worry about losing their life when they’re just going to work. I don’t really believe that Ollie Luck thinks that dying on the job is an acceptable part of coal’s heritage and its future in our state.  He could have easily said so — and encouraged us all to think about that for a moment before we enjoy watching the Mountaineers win on the Sunday before Labor Day.