Burnouts, Backlash, and Being 18 — Let Haiden Deegan Be a Kid

By Courtney Specht - MotoMom

Haiden Devgan had a run-in with the law. Oops.

I’m a child of the ’80s. My first love wasn’t some safe little sedan—it was a souped-up Mustang with more horsepower than sense. I drove it hard in high school, harder in college, and yeah, I did my fair share of stupid shit behind the wheel. I wasn’t a professional by any stretch, but I was better than most on the road. Still, some of the stunts I pulled? They make a parking lot burnout look like a Sunday cruise.

So when I saw the news about Hayden Deegan getting arrested for doing burnouts in a parking lot, my first reaction wasn’t shock. It was nostalgia.

Let’s be honest here: Haiden is 18. Legally an adult, sure—but emotionally, developmentally, and impulsively? Still very much a kid. A kid who’s grown up not just around dirt bikes and engines but inside a whirlwind of adrenaline, pressure, cameras, and the echoing legacy of the Metal Mulisha. His dad is Brian Deegan. What did we expect—golf and chess club?

Haiden was practically born with a throttle in his hand and a cheering crowd in his ear. His entire life has been built around speed, chaos, and the edge of control. That doesn’t turn off when he steps away from the track. So no, burnouts in a parking lot weren’t smart. No, we don’t condone it. But are we really surprised? Not remotely.

Back in January, Haiden talked openly about how this year, he was trying to step back and be himself. Not the brand. Not the name. Just Haiden. A teenager. A kid. One who’s still figuring out who he is. And that journey — It’s messy. It includes mistakes. It includes learning the hard way. And if we’re lucky, it includes growing from those mistakes—not getting crushed by them.

There’s a fine line between holding someone accountable and crucifying them for being young. He didn’t wreck anything. He didn’t hurt anyone. He did something dumb, and now he’s dealing with the consequences—good. That’s how growth works. But the online mob doesn’t stop at accountability. It wants drama. It wants public shame. It wants a reason to feel better than someone else.

I’m not a Deegan fan. I don’t own the merch. I’m not blindly defending his every move. But I am a mom. From that perspective, I’m asking the adults out there: let the kid live. You were 18 once. You did dumb shit too—maybe dumber. The difference is, your burnout didn’t get blasted across the internet and picked apart by thousands of strangers.

We want our racers fast, fearless, and exciting—but we lose our minds the second they act like it off the track. You don’t get to enjoy the wildness without recognizing that wild comes with some bumps.

So sure, hold Haiden accountable. Let him learn. But give him some space to be 18. To make a mistake. To be a little reckless. To grow into whoever he’s going to become. It could be the greatest motocross racer ever, and hopefully more so: a great guy and human.

Lord knows we all needed that same grace once.

See you Sunday,

MotoMom Court

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