- A man involved in a street brawl with reporter Paul Kent has told his story
- Kent avoided a conviction but was placed on a good behaviour bond
A man who was allegedly involved in a now infamous street brawl with NRL figure Paul Kent has opened up on his side of the story from that night.
Kent, 55, was sacked by News Corp following the incident on April 27, 2024.
He was subsequently placed on a two-year good behaviour bond and avoided a conviction after he pleaded guilty to his role in a street brawl with Tamer Uzun near Totti’s Rozelle in Sydney’s inner west.
During an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Kent had addressed criticisms over how he has been tough on ‘snowflakes’ who have cited mental health issues after getting in trouble but had claimed to be suffering from mental health issues when he faced court over an affray charge.
He revealed that he had sought to use mental health issues as an excuse for the affray charge because he was advised to do so by his lawyers.
Uzun criticised Kent for this.
‘It’s a shame that he was critical of people who go down the path of mental health to avoid punishment, and then it becomes part of his narrative on the advice of a lawyer,’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Tamer Uzun, who was allegedly involved in a street brawl with Paul Kent, has given his version of events as he faces charges of affray
Kent was dropped by News Corp and Fox Sports following the incident that took place last year
Uzun, 35, pleaded not guilty to a charge of affray and will return to court in July.
Reflecting on the fight, Uzun said: ‘The truth is I had no idea that person was Paul Kent,’
‘I can tell you he started abusing my friend first before things escalated.’
It is understood that Uzun had been out for dinner with his wife and another couple when the incident took place. He denies claims that he made reference to Kent’s domestic violence court case.
The former NRL360 journalist had been hospitalised with a collapsed lung and several broken ribs after the late-night fracas.
‘He keeps saying he has the CCTV footage. Well, I hope he releases it,’ Uzun said.
‘My friend got really scared and froze, and that’s when I had to ask the person, Paul Kent, to back away and leave us alone. That’s when he started threatening and abusing both of us.’
It is also alleged that Kent had been heavily drinking that evening. ‘My lawyer has got the [Sackville] hotel video [where Kent was drinking before the incident],’ Uzun said.
‘And apart from the video showing him drinking alcohol, there’s also vision of him shadow-boxing. After 20 beers, who would you believe? He was ready for a fight.’
Kent avoided a conviction for the event but was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond
‘After it happened, Paul walked over… and kept on top of me and kept yelling abuse and spat in my face. That’s when those strangers and my wife ran over and intervened and stopped both of them.
‘All these lies about me saying something about him being a woman basher is false, and that vision [of the fight] outside Totti’s [restaurant] will show you the truth.’
Kent, who has also denied claims of domestic violence, is currently making a comeback into media, with the reporter having begun a new podcast.
Responding to Uzun’s claims, Kent said: ‘I’d be disappointed if he didn’t give you a different version,’ Kent said of Uzun’s claims.
‘I’m not interested in responding to him. Last time it didn’t end too well.’
