They didn't back away from this story, but they didn't exactly publicize it much, either. And it didn't stay in the news very long, so if you weren't paying attention you could easily have missed it.
I missed it and had no idea - I have been watching him for the last couple of weeks and thinking he'd "lost the touch", needed to retire, etc. and now I feel really badly. He still needs to retire, but I certainly won't be making light of it anymore