Paul Kent sues media heavyweight for sacking him over pub street fight – but his ex-employer hits back with a withering response

Paul Kent, a former rugby journalist for NRL 360 and News Corp, could take legal action against his former employer.

Kent, 54, was discharged on May 30 while on trial for affray following a drunken street brawl on April 27. He was later found guilty and given a good behaviour bond.

The veteran rugby league journalist was also suspended for seven months by News Corp in 2023 after facing domestic violence charges, which were later dropped.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Kent – according to Fair Work Commission documents – had branded his dismissal by the media giant a “sham” and felt he had not been given a fair chance to tell his side of the story.

The documents also allegedly show that Kent was unhappy about not being given the presumption of innocence during domestic violence trials and that he lost seven months of income.

According to SMH, the documents show that Kent can sue his former employer in federal court for damages for the two periods in which he was suspended and ultimately fired.

Kent will reportedly argue that News Corp subsidiary Nationwide News acted arbitrarily and unreasonably in the process that led to his dismissal.

While Kent was fired for his role in the street brawl, he will reportedly seek damages after being suspended over separate domestic violence charges, which he was found not guilty of.

Kent, 54, was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to his role in a wild street brawl at Totti’s Rozelle in Sydney’s west on April 27.

Footage of the altercation reportedly showed Kent calling Sydney man Tamer Uzun a “dog face” and charging at him as bystanders tried to intervene.

The fight moved across the street when Kent tried to punch Uzun but was then thrown against a tree and hit his head in the gutter.

Jennifer Price, a local judge at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, refused the former Fox Sports and News Corp Australia columnist’s request to have his affray charge heard under the Mental Health Act.

Mrs Price took into account that Kent was suffering from severe depression and alcohol addiction at the time.

Footage was captured of Kent being involved in a brawl outside a Sydney bar earlier this year

Kent was sacked from his roles at Fox Sports programme NRL 360 and News Corp publication The Daily Telegraph

Fair Work Commission documents reportedly show that Kent will have his claim for unfair dismissal heard next week,

The step to dismiss the company on the spot [Kent] for serious misconduct is evidence of a process that was rushed, lacked a proper operational basis and was ‘specifically designed to [Kent] by [News Corp’s] ‘company’, as his application allegedly stated.

SMH reported that News Corp denies Kent’s allegations in its response to the Fair Work Commission.

The media giant will reportedly argue that it rightly dismissed Kent for “conduct warranting immediate dismissal” under the journalists’ enterprise agreement.

Andrew Biocca, the general manager of employee relations in Australia, has described the incidents that occurred during the public brawl in April, which attracted huge media attention and led to police charges being laid.

News Corp has reportedly described Kent’s conduct that night as “particularly serious in his character and reputational implications”. [the company]’ given his profile and the widespread reporting on the brawl.

The court challenged Kent’s claim that he had been dismissed for being absent from work due to illness or injury, finding that there were no reasonable grounds for this.

News Corp denies that the abuse Kent suffered was a result of her actions.