Freedom of choice is not freedom from consequences. Provorov chose to take the low road and out his homophobic beliefs. He will be called homophobic for the rest of his career and he doesn't deserve less to be honest. Imagine sitting out of the teddy bear drive for 'personal beliefs'. On a night dedicated to inclusiveness, what a joke Provorov has made the NHL.
No, freedom is freedom. You shouldn't force anybody to do anything period. The best example of this was in an episode of Seinfeld. Kramer was part of a march to support cause. And in the march there were buttons to support the cause. The organizer was like "hey Kramer, why don't you wear the button?" Kramer was like "cause I don't want to". The guy was pissed and wanted him to wear the button and was wondering why he didn't want to. And Kramer was like "I'm here, am I not? I support the cause. But I don't want to wear a button". Respect each other's freedom.