- Was acquitted by Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court in December
- Said at the time that he just wanted to resume a “normal life.”
- Will resume his role at NRL 360 nine months after stepping down
Journalist and rugby league presenter Paul Kent has been re-appointed as co-host of Fox Sports footy show NRL360 and will resume his duties ahead of the historic opening round in Las Vegas on March 2.
Kent was withdrawn from his News Corp newspaper column and role in NRL360 in 2023 after being charged with common assault and intentionally strangling a person without consent.
He was found not guilty of charges he assaulted and strangled his then partner Lucy Kennedy, 33, at his inner Sydney home on December 12.
After a two-day hearing at Downing Center Local Court in Sydney, Magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court he could not find the charges proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Kent, who drove limousines for a Sydney funeral company while awaiting trial, told media he was keen to return to a “normal life” after his acquittal in December.
“The judge accepted what had happened, to the point that my lawyer was not even required to issue a final demand letter,” he said at the time.
Kent returns to panel on NRL360 on Fox Sports after being found not guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend
Kent told the media that he simply wanted to resume a “normal” life after the Sydney ruling in December
Kent will return to Fox Sports’ football show in time to cover the historic opening round games in Vegas on March 2
“It’s been seven months since I’ve had to sit there and feel like I’ve been wrongly arrested (and) wrongfully charged, and I’ve had to sit there and have our public reputation torn apart by people who used it as an opportunity.”
‘Finally the truth is out there. It has cost me a lot, it has been a major setback in my life. But we all have our problems in life.
“This is my thing at the moment, so it’s now up to me to regroup and get back to my normal life. I can finally put this all behind me.’
Former Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Kangaroos enforcer Gorden Tallis covered Kent’s position on NRL360 as he was stood down.
He remains on the show and appears on Monday nights.
Kent will travel to Vegas with the Fox Sports team and participate in the lead-up to the historic double-header at Allegiant Stadium.
He will then resume his normal NRL360 duties in the regular season.
Three episodes of NRL360 will air from Vegas starting Thursday, February 29, reaching tens of millions of homes across the United States with the show to br airing during prime time on Fox’s main channel.
In addition to the NRL360 episodes, a live show featuring Matty Johns, Bryan Fletcher, Nathan Hindmarsh and Gorden Tallis will be broadcast from outside Resort World, where the players from the four teams will be staying.
Fox Sports will also send Andrew Voss and Dan Ginnane to cover the two matches.