Most of the conversation in this thread consists of people talking past each other bc they aren't aligned on the definition of the word: fired.
Yes, there's a way to define the word "fired" such that PG did fire Sam.
But, that definition is not the colloquial definition of the word "fired".
Just go outside on the street, and ask someone: "My boss just told me that I need to stop working on my side project to keep working at his company. Would you say I just got fired?"
The answer 95%+ of the time will be no.
So, while I can understand why you might argue that PG fired Sam, if you can't understand why PG claims that he did not fire Sam, you simply have your head buried in the sand.
This is where I think everyone will disagree with you. I don't know anyone who would agree with your statement. Most people I know would agree that you're being fired when your terms of continued employment change drastically in such an unfavorable way. If my boss told me, "Hey, you can keep working here as long as you work for free" then that's being fired but by your definition - it's not.
Yes, there's a way to define the word "fired" such that PG did fire Sam.
But, that definition is not the colloquial definition of the word "fired".
Just go outside on the street, and ask someone: "My boss just told me that I need to stop working on my side project to keep working at his company. Would you say I just got fired?"
The answer 95%+ of the time will be no.
So, while I can understand why you might argue that PG fired Sam, if you can't understand why PG claims that he did not fire Sam, you simply have your head buried in the sand.