Hey Peter:
Short answer: maybe yes, maybe no.
Long answer: uh, it's complicated. Basically you can't just turn off the current to a motor in an uncontrolled way -- doing so will lead to nasty voltage spikes. You can't turn off a transistor in those things too slowly, or it'll burn up (switching amplifiers use teeny transistors because they're either all the way on or all the way off. If they stay in between for too long -- POOF!)
A circuit designer that cares could, I think, make an ESC that would shrug that off. But it would have to be done it on purpose, which means that either the circuit designer does it on the sly, or everyone in the management chain cares enough to budget the time and money to make it happen.
What it all boils down to is -- ask the ESC manufacturer. Or, if it's a cheap ESC that you bought for 30 Euros, and that looks exactly like a dozen other cheap ESCs except for the brand name, then assume that if a bad thing can happen it will.
If someone is willing to pay me about $60,000 I'll sell them an ESC that's robust to all of that, plus regulates at least as well as the original Jeti Spin 66, and maybe even tolerates being shoved into the grass at random times while spinning at top speed. I'll throw in a built-in Hubin-style timer for free. The next ten one will cost about $100 each. For $100,000 up front, I'll just sell them for $100. Piece prices will continue to go down as guaranteed volume goes up.