Wash St's coach told a player that opting out of the season for covid reasons would be ok; the player just could not work out with the team, which seems reasonable given that the player would increase his chances of getting covid just working out. But he was also told that if opted out because of the unity movement, the school would have "issues" with that. Some Wash St players reportedly have been kicked off the team for supporting unity.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29587843... The National Labor Relations Act would protect the students if they were "employees" of the school but a few years ago a couple federal courts ruled that student athletes aren't employees of their schools. The cases didn't go to the SCOTUS, but the current court wouldn't be friendly to them.