Do better college football

Wrong message being sent on COVID-19

C’mon, college football, you’ve got to do better.

Coaches must set an example by wearing their masks. Fans shouldn’t be cheering from their seats or mugging for the cameras without face coverings. Schools must mandate safety checks for anyone entering the stadium.

That’s the only way they’re going to get through this most tenuous of seasons — somewhat safely, at least — in the midst of an unchecked pandemic that has already claimed more than 200,000 American lives.

The biggest game last weekend produced all sorts of disturbing images. Georgia, the third-ranked team in the country, requires fans to wear masks when they enter Sanford Stadium and while they’re on the concourses, but they can take them off at their socially distanced seats.

So, naturally, hardly anyone was wearing a mask while watching a 27-6 victory over Auburn in the first top 10 matchup of the season.

Sure, Georgia was following SEC guidelines, and school officials insisted that they maintained a safe environment, but the message wasn’t a good one.

Especially when Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart seemed to spend most of the evening with his mask dangling beneath his nose or down around his neck.

Smart acknowledged that he must do a better job with this most basic — and arguably, most important — of safety protocols, a simple step that tens of millions of Americans are following every day despite the inconvenience.

Then there’s LSU, the reigning national champion and another SEC powerhouse.

We’ve already heard coach Ed Orgeron casually drop that most of his team already contracted the coronavirus, as though it was nothing more than a cold.

On Monday, the Tigers doubled down by announcing they’ll stop doing CDC-sanctioned wellness checks at stadium gates. Instead, they encouraged fans to do a self-assessment of their health before they leave the house.

LSU officials say they want to cut down on the long lines to get inside Tiger Stadium. For good measure, they also lifted a ban on alcohol sales, creating an even greater chance of irresponsible conduct from those in the stands.

It’s baffling that anyone in a position of authority pondered the options and thought this was the way to go — especially in a state that has one of the nation’s highest COVID-19 death rates.

Georgia and LSU are hardly the only schools worthy of scrutiny.

And of course, it was always gong to be difficult to maintain a safe environment in a high-contact sport played in close quarters.

We’ve already seen positive tests, and we will surely see many more before the season is done.

But the goal must be to get through this without anyone suffering long-term health problems or, heaven forbid, dying.

C’mon, college football, you can do better.