What he said was true, which by definition means it wasn't libel. Dude you quoted is absolutely right. ESPN dictated (or tried to, anyway) what he could and couldn't say. Everyone knew when that (suspension) happened that his days were numbered.
And let's be serious, there was no way ESPN would dare suspend a woman for shytting on anyone in that Ray Rice situation. Also, First Take is an island of it's own, and can't be injected in any comparisons. They let Skip get away with saying whatever he wants, and SAS to a point. I guarantee that if Skip said what Simmons did, it woulda been a soundbite played everywhere on the network.