That's definitely the most dramatic possible interpretation, and is thus the one the Internet will fixate on. Giant crowds of uninformed bystanders can be counted on never to pick the most boring narrative.
Sounds like legalese boilerplate that the GH legal team recommended. Nothing more, nothing less.
Harassment allegations aside, the fact that the wife of the founder had the access/freedom she did was a bit of a WTF for me. I can understand that perhaps GH decided that was the termination-triggering offense, not the allegations.
It's probably aimed more at reminding GitHub employees of the possible legal ramifications of publicly supporting the allegations and dampening further discussion in general.
I don't see how that's less dramatic though, especially since the meaning of that statement is pretty obvious.
Whether you interpret it as normal, like you do, or inappropriate and/or sad, like I would, is a different matter.
For that one line, which other explanation do you have that better fits Occam's razor?
I would have a lot of trouble finding any other interpretation than him attempting to stop certain people from saying certain things and thus suppressing the discussion, whether successfully or not.
It's a reminder that freedom of speech != freedom from consequences. They're asking everyone to not ride on this infamous situation to perpetrate any more falsehood. Because if you do you'd have to help yourself with a little bit of law.
a) There is zero legal merit. As an outside observer, I don't know one way or another. I presume you don't either. (Remember the law does not always track your intuition.)
b) Even if there is some theoretical legal merit, the independent investigation results (if what we're told is the entirety of the conclusions) may make it an uphill battle to pursue the claim.
c) There is actual legal merit but the potential plaintiff is choosing not to pursue the matter.
d) There is actual legit merit and the attorneys are in settlement talks right now.
e) There is actual legal merit and a lawsuit will be filed before the statute of limitations expire.
Could you please remind us your credentials in this case, or are you yourself some "uninformed bystander" on "the Internet"? (If you're in the middle of this, perhaps you should link to it each time you comment.)