"Uncle" Phil Robertson Is Not Being Persecuted *Updated

Updating this with a link to Hemant Mehta's Friendly Atheist post, because he brings up a lot of good points.

For those who don't know, Phil Robertson is one of the rednecks on A&E's Duck Dynasty. It's a show about rednecks who got rich making duck calls. No, really. It's kind of like the Beverly Hillbillies.
Anyway, Robertson said some things, specifically about homosexuality being like beastiality. Honestly, I couldn't give two squirts of duck shit (see what I did there?) because he's another ignorant redneck in a long line with the same ignorant programming and none of them have ever had an original thought in what passes for a mind, in redneck culture. Trust me, I know these people, I live among them.
So A&E suspended him from the show. Of course, this pissed off all the other Christian bigots. Now they're claiming his free speech has been infringed. Once again, Christian bigots don't understand how free speech works.
I'll try to explain and use small words so you can follow along, oh ye of little brain and much faith.
A&E is a television network. A&E owns and broadcasts airs the show, Duck Dynasty. That makes Robertson, basically, an employee of A&E. Their employee said some things the network doesn't agree with, so they suspended him. Robertson is not being prosecuted (that there legal stuff what can lead to fines and/or jail). If he were being prosecuted, that would be an infringement of his free speech. But he's not. The network (A&E, his employer), doesn't want said network associated with Robertson bigoted, anti-gay views, so they gave him a time out. They are well within their right and if you had an employee telling customers things you didn't agree with, you'd do the same.
If you owned a business, and one of your employees was going around telling everyone within ear shot that "the heterosexual lifestyle choice causes parasites," no matter how funny I may find that, I couldn't disagree with your decision to suspend said employee, from work.
Free speech doesn't mean freedom from consequence of that speech, it means freedom from legal action, within certain boundaries - "fire in a crowded theater," slander/libel, and all that.

Christians, You aren't being persecuted in the US. Don't believe me?