Dry begging.

According to a report from NFL.com, last Monday, the president was blowing up Dallas Cowboys coach Jerry Jones’ phone, hoping his friendship with Jones would be enough to keep the players from kneeling during the anthem, in protest.

The president repeatedly called Jones while the owner stood in the locker room before the Monday night football game against the Arizona Cardinals, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Trump’s apparent persistence didn’t pay off. Jones and the entire Cowboys team briefly knelt before the national anthem began. The team then stood as the anthem was sung.

That sounds like compromise, to me, or at least, an attempt at compromise.

This week teams have anthem plans. It was tense last week, with @realDonaldTrump calling Jerry Jones 4 times & imploring him not to kneel: pic.twitter.com/D8jvrV4Aze

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 1, 2017

Jones supported Trump, at least, at one time. He donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration committee. When it comes to the protests, however, Jones is siding with his team and the players in the NFL.

The protests came in response to comments Trump made during a rally in Alabama last month, in which he called on kneeling players to be fired. The president was met with fierce backlash from NFL players, coaches and executives over the weekend, leading to a wave of kneels or other forms of protest against his attacks.

And the protests have continued, in one form or another. Fans, on the other hand, have mixed reactions.

Some are abandoning football in their own form of protest. Others are supporting the sport without agreeing with the kneeling.

Personally, I find the kneeling to be disgusting and ignorant, but I recognize their right to do it.

Trump’s hyper-focus on protests in the NFL, instead of on North Korea, tax reform, hurricane relief efforts, or repealing Obamacare probably isn’t the best use of his time, either.