He still has freedom of speech. He can say whatever he wants to say and not get arrested or prosecuted by law for his comments.
That said, if I'm the openly gay owner of a restaurant and the guy who is my cook (substitute cook with waiter, porter, host, delivery guy etc.) decides to badmouth Gays and Lesbians in general, I have every right, as the owner of the restaurant, to fire him.
Why?
If my employee made a public statement (as the gentleman in the Duck Dynasty fiasco did), it will hurt business. There are many Gay/Lesbians clients that walk into my restaurant and keep my business running. There are also many Gay/Lesbians businesses nearby that often help to support my business by advertising my general services (catering etc.). Likewise, it sets a bad precedent suggesting to the public, other businesses and employees alike that we are non-tolerant of those who lead "alternative" lifestyles.
How does this translate to a TV show? In the same way...
Face it folks, the shakers and movers in Hollywood and Showbiz are mostly Gay/Lesbian. You shit on their turf and they can do whatever the hell they want. Likewise, sponsors that are pro-gay, can decide to pull their ads from the show, which translates into losing a lot of money. Not to mention that gay/lesbian fans will stop watching the show, further hurting its ratings. Then, it leads other industry figures to reconsider possible deals with the producer and/or director of the show, because of the potential future backlash it could bring.
Again, while I completely respect his right to say whatever he wants to say. That doesn't mean that the network executives have to harbor any individual that can hurt their business.
"1"
P.S. At the end of the day, business is business and this is not so much about silencing his freedom of speech, but more so about doing what's best for business.
The problem is, he didn't say anything that shouldn't be deemed "offensive". He could have worded it better but regardless whether he worded it differently or not the "human right's" organizations would have still over reacted. He's stated his faith and belief and quoted scripture (Corinthians) and specifically said "It's not up to me to judge, let God sort em' out"
I heard one minion from glaad say in an interview "well he doesn't have be so vocal about his faith" (paraphrasing) but it's all right to teach in school, have gay pride parades, make it a national story when a gay high school crossdresser win's Homecoming (at my son's school) but when someone says something professing their faith or God for bid put's a nativity scene in their front yard or in a park at it offends ONE PERSON the whole world has to hear about it.
I have gay friends and gay clients, the ones that I have spoken with about this since last night even thought it was bullshit. It's hypocrisy at a level I thought I would never see.
