X Games will be missing its defending champion, Jeremy Lusk, who died of severe head injuries in February after failing to fully rotate on a back flip in a similar contest in Costa Rica. He is believed to be the first freestyle motocross rider to die from injuries suffered during competition. Lusk, nicknamed "The Pit Bull" for his toughness and work ethic, was a member of a riding crew known as the Metal Mulisha, whose skull logo is plastered on the hats, T-shirts, motorcycles and tattoos of both team members and teenagers around the country.
Now Lusk's name can be seen on dirt bikes, shirts and skin all around the grounds of the X Games. "Pretty much my whole bike and my whole week are about Jeremy Lusk," said Metal Mulisha member Todd Potter after winning the Best Whip event Thursday night. Lusk will be the subject of a tribute on Saturday night before the event at Home Depot Center that will feature a fighter jet fly-by, words from teammates and a "moment of cheer," instead of a moment of silence, at the request of Lusk's family.
Also, X Games gold medals in every event will feature the letters of his last name surrounding a scrawled cross. "It's a huge loss. He was one of our top guys and he was my best friend," said Brian Deegan, founder of the Temecula, Calif.-based Metal Mulisha, who raced to Costa Rica to be by Lusk's side before his death. "I wish it never happened but it did. In the end we have to deal with it as a team, and go out there and stick together and be strong." Since Lusk's death, Deegan and others have helped create the American Freestyle Motocross Association.
