It is unfortunate Major League Baseball diminished the commemoration of one of its greatest racial milestones by using that date to release new figures concerning diversity.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black athlete in modern times to play in the Major Leagues. This dedicated, talented individual had to clear one major hurdle after another just to survive in a hot climate of racism and retaliation, and yet he never flinched from the challenge. Players today know that racial tension still exists, but the hostility is nowhere near what Robinson faced and, in so many ways, conquered.

Baseball leaders chose the anniversary of Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers to pat themselves on the back for increasing their overall racial diversity despite the fact that the percentage of black players dropped again last year. Why detract from what Robinson did with such an announcement now? The spin on the news weakened the honor Robinson deserves.

Among current major leaguers, 8.2 percent are black, the lowest percentage in two decades. Once the percentage was just under 30 percent. As time has passed, baseball has become less attractive to black athletes, who seek quicker attention and greater rewards in fields such as basketball and football.

“I’m very disappointed by that fact,” says Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow. “Competition from other sports is certainly a big factor, but there are many factors. We’ve got to work on it in terms of getting younger children playing, into the game, and getting communities behind the programs.”

But why should an anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s landmark be obscured by this melee? In the eyes of some noted observers, Robinson created international progress in arguably his fifth best sport. He was an All-American football halfback at UCLA, led the Bruin basketball team in scoring, won the NCAA long jump and was a top sprinter, finished third in the NCAA tennis tournament when blacks often could not find courts to use and, incidentally, did pretty well as a baseball letterman.

How about attention to what he created to begin with, then an announcement on the diversity issue later?

Somebody in baseball’s public relations ranks merits an F grade for this insensitive blunder.