Thousands of bikers gathered at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, on Sunday for the annual Rolling to Remember event where some of them gave their opinions to Breitbart News on athletes kneeling during the National Anthem.
“I stand for the flag, and I kneel for God,” said Mike, a motorcyclist in town for the ride. “You need to stand for the flag for the 82,000 guys that are still MIAs and have not come home and for the hundreds and hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives, who have gone off to war and lost their lives fighting for our freedoms.”
“My message to the athletes is: You’re a role model and you shouldn’t be making that much of a statement when there are young kids out there watching and trying to emulate what you’re doing,” he added. “They should be proud Americans and standing up for everybody, not just their own personal opinion.”
“It’s kind of like he said — it’s respecting, you know,” said Eric, another nearby motorcyclist attending the event. “Stand up for it and stand up for the messages you want to stand for as well. I think that’s where the pride comes from. Whatever that message is that you’re wanting to be heard or are trying to get out to people, stand for it.”
“I don’t think disrespecting someone else’s message is a way to get your message heard,” he added.
As previously reported by Breitbart News, the Rolling to Remember event draws “attention to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, to more than 80,000 missing in action and prisoners of war, and also to the average of 22 daily suicides committed by veterans or active military.”
Follow Kyle on Twitter @RealKyleMorris and Facebook.