Also (call Brown a RINO, yes, but...) Keith Olbermann apologized (can’t recall if he was suspended)for hyperbolic comments about Sen Scott Brown. He also called Michelle Malkin a “big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on”
Olby on Brown:
“In short, in Scott Brown we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, teabagging supporter of violence against woman and against politicians with whom he disagrees. In any other time in our history, this man would have been laughed off the stage as an unqualified and a disaster in the making by the most conservative of conservatives. Instead, the commonwealth of Massachusetts is close to sending this bad joke to the Senate of the United States.””
And, yet, none of these actions is a violation of freedom of speech. I don’t necessarily like it, but if you say something that makes your employer look bad to your current and future customers, or if it offends your fan base, expect repercussions.