As far as Playhaven is concerned, I'm nearly certain that the person in question wasn't simply fired for making a sexual joke (I could be wrong on this, but tha

As far as Playhaven is concerned, I'm nearly certain that the person in question wasn't simply fired for making a sexual joke (I could be wrong on this, but that would typically be a pretty strong reaction). They were forced into making a strong, public response by having one of their employees, wearing their shirt, being called out as a sexist. Think of it from the perspective of the company - the potential downside if you choose to protect this employee is huge, and it's far safer to err on the side of political correctness and quickly eliminating any hint that your company supports and protects sexist employees. Once pictures are posted to Twitter clearly associating your company with sexism and harrassment, it ceases to be an HR problem, and becomes a PR problem.