Do Professors Deserve Academic Freedom?

I recently read an article in the opinion section of the New York Times about a professor at the University of Ottawa who is potentially being fired for giving "A+" grades and  turning his physics class into a political activism course, all on the first day of class. This brings about the question of whether or not teachers deserve the right to be so vocally liberal with their views. Schools and Universities have strict policies about how teachers are and are not to conduct courses. Many schools create the syllabus for courses and give them to teachers with the intent that they instruct based on it, without veering off in the slightest. I for one, have had teachers who have been very outwardly vocal when it comes to controversial topics. Politics are what first come to mind, but this is by no means limited to political opinion. On the one hand, is it fair to give academics the right to ignore their employer's wishes and regulations in favor of personal intuition while employees in most other fields would be fired on the spot for doing so? What is so wrong about a university protecting itself by adhering to such regulations when it is their reputation on the line if a professor does/says something in conflict with what they believe is responsible? On the other hand, isn't learning in fact all about hearing all different opinions? One particular man who commented on the blog put it so well when he said, "Your first move to say that the professor was hired to perform   a job is evidence enough to prove that you don't understand education; it is not a path that leads in a certain direction." Education is not about using a particular means to a specific end; it is about opening peoples' eyes and helping them find their own way to their own opinion. In high school I had a teacher who was open about his political and even religious views, and while some people could be turned off by his seemingly pushy dialogue, he turned out to be the best teacher and mentor I have ever had because he pushed his students to think divergently. The ones who are threatened tend to be the ones who are set in their ways and fear that another with opposing thoughts will convert them. So, all in all, professors do deserve a sort of academic freedom.