I completely understand that as a pilot you must be extra diligent on a congested ramp. That being said, I was told during my stint as a ramp agent that I was wholly responsible for any aircraft that I was marshaling and that I would be responsible, and not the pilots, should anything happen.

How is it that these pilots could be fired when they were simply following the direction of the marshaler? If we as pilots can't trust a marshaler what is their purpose? There is a lot to pay attention to while operating in the extremely congested gate areas, I don't think this is the pilots fault and I definitely don't think they deserve to be fired over it.