In the summer of 2011, the NBA lockout cost the league regular-season games for the second time in league history; the first occurred during the 1998–99 lockout. Those were the only times the league has lost games as a result of work stoppages. Stern was known as a relentless negotiator. During the 2011 lockout, he was accused by HBO commentator Bryant Gumbel of being "some kind of modern-day plantation overseer", a reference to the division between the NBA's primarily white owners and its predominantly black players.