The NFL has come under fire in the last couple years because of the actions of its players, but none of that is as detrimental to the NFL or this nation as the halftime debacle of Super Bowl 50. We recognize the NFL doesn't have control over what its players do in their personal lives, but it has absolute control over the content of the halftime performances, and it needs to apologize for Beyonce's performance.

Nevermind that it allowed Beyonce to strut around like a stripper in a seedy gentleman's club in front of millions of children, and nevermind that the NFL allowed her do this after the same classless dancing sparked outrage at her last Super Bowl appearance. The far greater outrage is that the NFL allowed her to celebrate a divisive, violent, racist, hate group at the Super Bowl, a sporting event that should serve to unify America, not divide it.

There is no excuse for the NFL allowing this to happen. Anyone who has the internet and knows how to use a computer knows that the Black Panthers murdered police officers, murdered and/or attempted to murder witnesses, intimidated officers, and engaged in organized crime. This is not a group whose actions we are proud of.

The beliefs of the Black Panthers were just as ugly. They taught that 1) all black people should be freed from prison, regardless of whether they were innocent of guilty; 2) all black people should be given land, food, clothing, money, and healthcare, regardless of their contribution or lack thereof; 3) that black people are superior to white people; 4) that black people should be exempt from military service. Only the whites should die defending America; 5) violence against non-blacks was okay; and 6) the U.S. government should be overthrown. In short, this is not a group whose teachings we are proud of.

By celebrating this subversive, misguided group whose teachings are antithetical to America, Beyonce showed the ugliest side of racial tension in America, specifically the silly, illogical, and base human reaction of believing one's own skin color is better than all others. It was a step backwards, not forwards for America, and the fact that the NFL condoned this backwards celebration is unacceptable. If the NFL's idea of dabbling into the political arena is to support one of the most despised groups in American history, one that is equivalent in type to the KKK, then the NFL should just stick to football.

Wherefore, in light of the foregoing, we, the undersigned citizens of America who believe in erasing the boundaries of skin color, not reinforcing them demand the NFL apologize for its lapse in judgment in allowing Beyonce to publicly celebrate a group that represents the basest and ugliest side of America.