If any of those items were true (and I highly doubt that), his colleagues should have simply mentioned it rather than stay quiet, passive aggressive, and butthurt.
I'm guessing they _were_ trying to mention it and he interpreted it as "don't make waves till you get tenure". And sure, some people explicitly say that, but the fact is, new people in an old organization do not understand the complexities, and telling everyone they're wrong is not going to win friends or influence people.