Bryant Gumbel invoked images of slavery in a scathing attack on NBA Commissioner David Stern, saying he is acting like a "modern-day plantation overseer" in his treatment of players during the league's lockout.
Gumbel, during a closing segment on HBO's Real Sports, said Stern is standing in the way of a solution to the league's labor dispute.
"If the NBA lockout is going to be resolved anytime soon," he said, "it seems likely to be done in spite of David Stern, not because of him."
"The NBA's infamously egocentric commissioner seems more hell bent lately on demeaning the players than on solving his game's labor issues."
Gumbel said Stern's tactics are nothing new.
"His efforts are typical of a commissioner who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern-day plantation overseer, treating NBA men as if they were his boys. ... His moves are intended to do little more than show how he's the one keeping the hired hands in their place."
He called Stern's poor treatment of the players "palpable and pathetic."
Gumbel seemed to be referring to statements made by Stern that the union's deal will only get worse if a solution isn't found quickly and that more games -- possibly including Christmas Day games -- will likely be canceled if a deal isn't reached this week. Gumbel said Stern has also said that the players are being misled by the union.
NBA owners and players were meeting for a second straight day Wednesday, the 111th day of the lockout.
The sides have been divided mostly by two issues -- the division of revenues and the structure of the salary cap system.
Stern wanted a deal to bring to his owners this week, warning that more games could be canceled. Already the first two weeks of the season have been lost.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
