Colin Mairet, Sports Editor of Purdue’s The Exponent, recently interviewed a former quarterback who supports the unionization of college football players.

Despite direct opposition from current student-athletes and administrators at Northwestern, one former Purdue quarterback believes the players at the school want to unionize and the process is a “step in the right direction.”

“The players are not divided on whether or not they want to unionize,” Rob Henry, a member of the Purdue football team from 2009-2013, said. “I have been in contact with people close to the situation, and the players want to unionize. This movement was started by the players because they believe in this effort.”

According to Henry, the opposition to the movement stems from Northwestern administrators and coaches who are making the players “feel guilty for their efforts.”

“Constant pressure by coaches and administrators have the players caught in an uncomfortable situation,” Henry said. “When you are recruited to a college you feel a responsibility to be loyal to your coaches and your university. Therefore, when your coaches are trying to persuade you to do something, even if it is not in your best interest, you as a player feel an obligation to obey them.”

Henry, who graduates this spring, has been a vocal supporter of the Northwestern initiative since its onset. Henry spoke out in favor of Kain Colter’s petition in early February and has since commented on the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling that found student-athletes can be considered employees.

“As players, we have been trying to get the NCAA to sit down for years and discuss the fact that athletes’ scholarships do not cover the cost of attendance,” Henry said. “It is unfortunate we have now had to bypass the NCAA’s authority, but all this could have been solved if the NCAA would have sat down with us years ago.”

The former quarterback has supported student-athletes’ rights long before the Northwestern unionization efforts. Henry joined the National College Players Association, a group founded by athletes at UCLA, during his redshirt freshman year at Purdue.

Even though Henry believes the unionization movement will have a necessary impact on the college athletic systems as a whole, he doesn’t want to speculate on whether this movement will cause other schools to follow suit.