NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams has earned a reputation as one of the best in the business. However, as of Feb. 11, he has been suspended for six months without pay for embellishing coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

According to USA Today, the scandal erupted earlier this month when Williams attended a New York Rangers game with a soldier who helped guard him and other American soldiers while a convoy of military helicopters they were flying on was forced to land on a desert in Iraq in 2003. Williams said the helicopter that he was on had been hit by enemy fire and forced down.

The true story came out that his helicopter didn’t even get fired upon.

Williams apologized during his broadcast of NBC Nightly News for “misremembering” the story, and later in the week took a self-appointed leave of absence.

As said by NBC News president Deborah Turness in an article in USA Today about the incident, “as Managing Editor and Anchor of ‘Nightly News,’ [Williams] has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times.”

Due to his failure to maintain honesty and integrity to the facts, he was suspended. Lester Holt will fill in for Williams until his return. Holt anchors the weekend editions of NBC’s “Today Show” and “Nightly News” and hosts NBC’s show “Dateline.”

Mike Moxley is a Multimedia Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.