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The headlines are slammed with stories about President Donald Trump's continued feud with the NFL over players protesting, a feud the president is thrilled about continuing according to reports. Trump praised the "great anger" from fans at the Cowboys-Cardinals game on Monday night after people booed Jerry Jones and Dallas players for taking a knee together prior to the national anthem.

Just about every team protested Trump's comments in Alabama last Friday, with the Seahawks standing out as a notable franchise in this moment because of how the club's leadership handled things. Some Seahawks would like to take things a step further: both defensive end Michael Bennett and coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday night on CNN's "AC360" with Anderson Cooper that they would welcome a sit down with President Trump to talk about the issues.

"I wish I had a chance to sit down and talk with him. I would love to do that," Carroll said. "But basically right now I just wish he would understand that this is a moment to be empathetic and to listen and to listen what everyone's saying and to feel what that's all about without passing judgment. That's what needs to happen. I see it as a new empathy. People from all different walks and all different opinions. We need to give ourselves the opportunity to hear the other side. 

"That's the first step in us creating change, and this is about change and I'm hoping so desperately we're able to make progress."

Bennett had a pretty interesting take on the situation too, noting that Trump wants NFL players to be quiet and just make a lot of money, but that Trump himself also makes a lot of money and does not have to be quiet. The defensive lineman also said he does support Trump as the president because "at the end of the day" he holds the office.

"I would love to sit down with the president and talk about these issues and be able to find a way to fix them or be able to find a way to have the voice of the people, you know people that don't have the voice," Bennett said. "I can't sit here and say he's not my president or he's not that, because at the end of the day he is the President of the United States. 

"For him to say it's a privilege and we shouldn't speak on what we believe in because we're making money -- he was a rich man too and all of a sudden he's speaking on what he believes in and he's still standing up for what he believes in. So what makes him different from us?"

There was a whole lot of good stuff from Bennett during the interview with Cooper -- agree or disagree with his stance on protesting but he is a thoughtful man who cares about improving the general quality of treatment between humans.

To wit, Bennett talked about Alejandro Villanueva, who decided to break ranks with his Steelers teammates and stand on the field, and explained how it is perfectly fine for the former Army Ranger to do what he wants before the game, because Villanueva has the same rights to freedom of speech as Bennett.

"That shows America -- that's the freedom to express what he believes. And he expressed what he believed in," Bennett said. "What's the difference between a guy kneeling for what he believes in and what he did and standing up for what he believes in. We're all saying the same thing. I don't think we should be judged as un-American because we believe in equality. Just like he believes in what he believes in, I applaud him for standing up for what he believes in. And I'm very honored to have someone like that in the NFL."

The problem here is that the country is far too vitriolic when it comes to issues of the flag. People are set in an opinion and they were going to scream about it until something happens. And usually nothing happens.

It's why it might actually make sense for Carroll and Bennett to have a sitdown with the president and hash some things out.