NRL personality Paul Kent drank 21 schooners before alleged street brawl,court told

Rugby league presenter Paul Kent drank 21 schooners before an ugly street brawl outside a Rozelle pub earlier this year,a court has heard.

Video footage in April capturedan intoxicated Kent reacting angrily to allegedly being insulted by Tamer Uzun as he walked past him,branding Uzun a “doghead” before removing his watch and resisting an effort to subdue him.

Fox Sports presenter and News Corp Australia columnist Paul Kent has been stood down after footage emerged of him appearing to brawl outside a Sydney restaurant.

Cocking his fists,Kent then charged at the 35-year-old,with whom he traded punches before the clash shifted onto the street in front of the venue and the journalist was flung head-first into the trunk of a roadside tree.

The man he squared up to on Friday appeared briefly in the Downing Centre Local Court on an affray charge,which his lawyer,Bryan Wrench,said he would ask police to withdraw.

“We have obtained a number of CCTV videos,it’s a matter of an affray where we say our client is the victim,he was attacked,” Wrench told the Downing Centre Local Court on Friday morning.

Tamer Uzun (centre) leaves the Downing Centre District court on Friday.

Tamer Uzun (centre) leaves the Downing Centre District court on Friday.Nikki Short

Uzun and Kent will both return to court next month.

Kent had drunk 21 schooners in the lead-up to the brawl,Wrench told the court.

This masthead has reported that he spent the afternoon of April 27 at his regular table at the Sackville Hotel,before becoming embroiled in the fracas as he made his way towards his Lilyfield home.

A court last month heard thatKent is seeking help for his mental health and drinking.

Paul Kent,left,gesticulates during the alleged affray,and,inset,the bump left on Uzun’s head.

Paul Kent,left,gesticulates during the alleged affray,and,inset,the bump left on Uzun’s head.Supplied

A rugby league columnist forThe Daily Telegraphand a commentator on Fox Sports’NRL 360,Kent had only returned in March to the flagship Fox Sports panel show after sitting out much of the 2023 season while he defended charges of domestic violence against his former partner.

He was foundnot guilty in December of choking and assaulting the 33-year-old woman,telling reporters afterwards he was relieved “the truth is out there,finally”.

Last month,he failed in a bid to recoup legal costs from the state.

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Sally Rawsthorne is a crime reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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