Rome burns over traffic melee

PROVO — Jim Rome compared the story of a BYU athlete arrested for a mop attack to a bad Jackie Chan film on his national talk show Wednesday.

The Associated Press picked up a story reported by the Deseret Morning News about BYU distance runner Kyle Perry being hauled off to jail for allegedly attacking a mop-pushing pedestrian.

That was enough fodder for famed sports talk show host Rome to spend nearly four minutes on his AM radio show mulling over the quirky news clip.

"Apparently he drove a little too close to the dude (who had) a bucket of mops," Rome said. "Words were exchanged, and the next thing you know, mops are being swung in anger. Better a mop than a blade or a piece. (But) I think we all know the quickest way to street cred is to go upside someone's head with a mop. A dirty, filthy, stinking mop."

Provo police said Perry nearly hit the pedestrian, then got out of his car, allegedly grabbed a mop from the man's bucket and allegedly began whacking the man with the mop.

But Perry said he slammed on his brakes and missed the pedestrian, who then shoved his mop bucket into the side of Perry's car, according to his future brother-in-law, Jonathan Hoeger.

As Perry got out to talk to the man, the man picked up a mop and hit him.

They ended up scuffling, but Perry's actions were only in self-defense, Hoeger said. Hoeger's sister, Julianne, was riding with her fiance, Perry, and called the police.

He was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault but has not been charged. He will appear in Provo's 4th District Court on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

But wait. Rome wasn't done.

"What is that, an urban version of a joust?" Rome continued. "Like some bad Jackie Chan movie where a dude is in a warehouse staring down 100 guys with samurai swords and nunchucks and Chan takes them all out with his mop? Bottom line, if you need to be packing a mop in order to go some place, it's probably not a place you want to be.

"And, yes, I know he jacked the other cat's mop, that's part of the problem. You never know when a track star might use one of your mops against you. It's not a good story. Really."

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