Cancel culture is what happened after the revelations about the podcast. Some people got angry they felt he wasn't punished enough and turned to cancel culture to punish him instead.
Break every rule of your profession and publish a bunch of BS? We'll give you another chance. Gave an inappropriate backrub 10 years ago? You're out!
He should have been fired for Caliphate and expressly for Caliphate.
Look at the author of this piece.
Do you think a journalist who has no journalistic integrity is going to admit he got fired because he has no journalistic integrity?
Easier to get a sympathy by claiming it was about back rubs.
That said, seems like the easier narrative for the NYT to go with as well -- they don't have to own up to their editorial failures up the chain that way.