Shirvell's decision to go on leave came a day after [Michigan Attorney General Mike] Cox told CNN he didn't intend to fire Shirvell, citing civil service rules that protect government employees from being "fired willy-nilly" for exercising their rights of free speech.

Shirvell's leave caps a scandal that became national news after the Michigan Daily student newspaper described Shirvell's blog in early September. The blog, which closed to the public Thursday, called Armstrong "a radical homosexual activist, racist, elitist and liar" who was "advancing a radical homosexual agenda."