Veteran Coachella Valley news anchor Kris Long has remained off the air for more than a week after he took to Facebook to defend Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh from an accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted an acquaintance as a teenager.

Long, an evening anchor at CBS Local 2, has not appeared on air since the Sept. 17 evening newscast.

Long's public post spurred fierce debate on Facebook over the assault claim itself, as well as whether Long had erred under traditional journalistic ethics by weighing in on social media.

In an email on September 26, CBS Local 2 General Manager Jerry Upham said Long remains “on a leave of absence.” He confirmed Long will not appear on the air on Thursday.

“We continue to take the time to consider matters carefully and have decided to keep Kris off the air while we sort through the ramifications of his personal Facebook post,” Upham wrote.

On Thursday, both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor that has accused him of assaulting her when both were in high school, will testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

WATCH LIVE:Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings continue with Christine Blasey Ford testimony

BRETT KAVANAUGH HEARING:Christine Ford details alleged attack, responds to prosecutor's questions

PREVIOUSLY:Local TV news anchor off the air since defending Kavanaugh against assault claim in Facebook post

Kris Long said in a text message he was “unable to comment” on Thursday morning, adding that he is "thinking of (his) future!"

In an earlier interview with The Desert Sun, Long said he stands by the remarks in his original post, but would further emphasize that he condemns rape and understands why some victims of sexual assault do not report it initially.

“I wish I hadn’t a written (the post) because it’s caused me a lot of headache," he said.

In his Facebook post, Long said the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault was “long overdue,” but said the allegation against Kavanaugh amounted to “lesser miscreant behavior.”

“You are beyond dreaming if you think 17 year old boys are not going to misbehave from time to time as they begin to attempt relationships with the opposite sex,” Long wrote. “That is just the way we animals are made!”

Long later deleted the post and posted an apology.

President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court in July.

Ford wrote a confidential letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, that same month, describing an interaction with Kavanaugh at a high school party. She said Kavanaugh tried to remove her clothing against her will, then covered her mouth with his hand in an attempt to stop her from screaming.

Since Long’s Sept. 17 Facebook post, Kavanaugh’s nomination has been buffeted by additional allegations of sexual misconduct.

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied all accusations, calling them “last-minute smears, pure and simple” in prepared remarks released ahead of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

BRETT KAVANAUGH:What we know now about the sexual allegations against him

The Society For Professional Journalists, the nation’s oldest and largest professional journalism association, advises journalists to “avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility." Other journalism associations and news organizations have adopted social media policies and guidance specifically.

But Long’s comments come as some journalists have called for a shift from traditional notions of objectivity. They say journalists cannot help bringing preferences and biases into their work, and should be transparent about these opinions rather than seek some illusive objectivity.

In Long’s Facebook post, he wrote that “few things are more serious than rape,” but said the timing of Ford’s claim “stinks of political maneuvering.”

If he were nominated for the Supreme Court, Long wrote, “they might have to enlarge the Senate hearing room to accommodate all the young women from the mid to late 1960's who felt that I had tried to go a bit too far!”

The post drew more than 160 comments in the hours after Long published it, with some readers defending Long and others expressing disappointment in him. On the morning of Sept. 18, Long deleted the post and published an apology.

“This is a sensitive and controversial subject and I apologize for any offense that this has caused,” he wrote.

But the Facebook comments haven't stopped. On the news anchor's Facebook page, some readers reproached CBS Local 2 for taking Long off the air. But others, including Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege, wrote Facebook posts saying they had lost respect for Long and calling for CBS Local 2 and Long to apologize to survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

In a Sept. 18 statement, Upham, CBS Local 2 general manager, affirmed the station’s commitment to objective news and said Long's post "does not represent the views of CBS Local 2 or that of Gulf California Broadcast Company. We realize this is a sensitive subject and apologize for any offense this has caused.”

Ford’s prepared remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday described the alleged assault as well as her struggle between feeling a “civic duty” to come forward and reluctance to put herself and her family in the public spotlight.

“My motivation in coming forward was to provide the facts about how Mr. Kavanaugh’s actions have damaged my life, so that you can take that into serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed,” she said.

According to a copy of Kavanaugh's prepared remarks, Kavanaugh will tell senators that accusations against him are ”grotesque and obvious character assassination.” Kavanaugh will also testify that he “said and did things in high school that make me cringe now.”

“What I’ve been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior,” he will tell senators, according to the prepared remarks. “I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes.”

​​​​​​Amy DiPierro covers business and real estate at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs. Reach her at amy.dipierro@desertsun.com or 760-218-2359.