What Brian Williams did was wrong, but why he may have done it is understandable. The NBC news anchor was caught in a lie. He claimed that he was under an attack and injured while covering the war in Iraq. Now, some of the stories he has told about his time covering Hurricane Katrina are also being questioned.

Here is a statement that was made late last week:

A Personal Note from Brian Williams

"In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.

As Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us."

The obvious question here is, "Why?"

A person who has worked to reach this level in his career shouldn’t need to embellish a story, or to present something that didn’t happen as the truth. Williams' career highlights should be enough. Many inside and outside of the media business are dumbfounded by Williams’ actions.

Speculating, I think that when you spend so much time covering the lives of other people you sometimes long for having someone tell and share a story about yourself.

But Williams is one of three top news anchors working in network news. Where did the need to lie to make himself more "newsworthy" come from? That part is puzzling.

It is easier to understand why he may have done it – to be a hero, someone to look up to.