- NRL pundit pleaded guilty to April fight
- Veteran was fired for incident on May 30
Paul Kent is returning to sports commentary on an Australian cricket legend’s podcast after being sacked from high-profile roles at Foxtel and News Corp due to his infamous drunken street fight.
The former NRL 360 star was sacked on May 30 this year while facing court on affray charges following a street fight outside a pub in Sydney’s inner west in which he suffered injuries when he was thrown against a tree.
News Corp also suspended the veteran rugby league journalist for seven months in 2023 while he faced domestic violence charges, which were later dismissed.
Now, the 55-year-old has appeared as an upcoming guest on How’s That? by cricket great Mike Whitney. podcast, which has also featured big names such as cult hero fast bowler Lenny Pascoe, legendary batsman Doug Walters, football great Mark Carroll and musician Angry Anderson.
The episode with Kent is believed to be available from February and will feature a ‘chat about his story and what he’s been up to since #NRL360’ complete with some ‘interesting stories’, according to the podcast’s TikTok.
The appearance on Whitney’s show is Kent’s first media appearance since her career went off the rails this year.
Paul Kent (second from left) will appear on cricket legend Mike Whitney’s podcast (left) in what will be his first foray back into the spotlight after his infamous street fight in April.
According to a promo from How’s That? On the podcast episode Kent will tell some ‘interesting stories’ about what he has been up to since his expulsion from the NRL 360 TV show.
He reportedly settled his unfair dismissal case against News Corp in September after pleading guilty to the affray charge and receiving a good behavior bond.
Kent called his firing a “farce” when he brought the case and said he believed he had not been given a fair opportunity to tell his side of the story.
Documents filed by his legal team also reportedly indicated that Kent was unhappy that he was not granted the presumption of innocence during domestic violence court hearings and lost seven months of income.
According to her claim, Kent had also been privately grappling with a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome for nearly a decade, and her legal team said the condition is a disability under the law.
The former Parramatta Eels player said he revealed his Asperger’s diagnosis to his former employer about nine years ago.
News Corp disputed that Kent informed the company of his diagnosis around 2015 and denied that it had discriminated against him because of his disability.
In deciding not to record a conviction on the charge of affray resulting from the street fight, Magistrate Jennifer Price took into account that Kent was suffering from severe depression and alcohol use disorder at the time of the incident.
Kent (pictured outside court in May last year) reportedly settled his unfair dismissal claim against News Corp.
The veteran football pundit is pictured (centre) hitting his head on a gutter after being thrown into a tree during the fight on April 27 this year.
In the course of the case, Kent said he informed the News that he was unfit for work and was receiving mental health treatment when the company asked him on May 23 to show cause why his employment should not be terminated.
According to Kent, his dismissal dates back to when he was wrongly accused of attacking his ex-partner Lucy Kennedy at her Lilyfield home on May 12 last year.
Kent pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault and choking a person without consent and all charges were dismissed last December at Downing Center Local Court.
He also briefly worked as a part-time limousine driver for a funeral company in Sydney’s inner west when he was stood down on domestic violence charges.
Kent was seen hitting his head on a manhole outside Rozelle’s Three Weeds hotel in a viral video showing the street fight on April 27.
His lawyer, George Elias, later said his client had been hospitalized with up to five broken ribs and a suspected collapsed lung after the altercation.