nbc said:

“We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime. It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late.” 

nfl said:

“There was a failure in NBC’s delay system. The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans.”

then nbc was all like: 

“The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show. Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.”

(source: entertainment weekly, via pitchfork)