I realize your situation with MEH has left you bitter as hell, but step away from your rage and think about it for a second:
Company comes to you and says "We need you to publicly recant what you said about lack of support from the station."
What are his options if he says no?
#1 - nothing happens
#2 - he gets terminated, suspended, or otherwise disciplined
Being asked to recant a statement pretty much puts #1 in doubt, leaving us with #2. With any kind of collective bargaining representation there would be a grievance process in place to fight a wrongful termination. Without collective bargaining representation, he'd be left to his own devices to secure legal representation at his expense and fight Jetblue in court and/or the media.
If he refused to do the statement, got disciplined and then went public with it it'd be a HUGE black eye for Jetblue...but wouldn't change the fact that guy is now unemployed, with legal bills, in the public spotlight speaking out against his employer, who obviously is bent on fighting him.
Or, make the damn statement and continue collecting a paycheck.
What's an adult with responsibilities to do?!?
But perhaps I should have said "Backbone is easier to have when you're sitting in front of a keyboard typing on Flightinfo"...