• What would Jackie do if someone called him a nappy-headed so-and-so?

My guess is, he would drill a double off the wall in left-center field and slide hard into second base. He would not call a press conference. He would not allow himself to be scarred for life.

Why?

Because he was called far worse, and that's how he handled it.

• What would Jackie do if a black stripper accused three white lacrosse players of rape?

My guess is, he would keep an open mind, let the legal system work, wait for all the facts to surface. He wouldn't defend the stripper just because she was black. He wouldn't condemn the lacrosse players just because they were white.

Why?

Because he was an honest man who believed in fairness.

• What would Jackie do if he heard the rap lyrics that demean women, especially black women, and disrespect black men by throwing around the n-word?

My guess is, he would be angry. And hurt. And sickened. He wouldn't understand why these artists would undermine their own people and trash everything he fought against.

Why?

Because he heard that despicable word, and much worse, too many times in his life. And he hated it. He hated it so much that he'd surely do something about it.

• What would Jackie do if he saw the front page of last Tuesday's USA Today sports section, which prominently displayed the mug shots of 41 NFL players arrested since the start of 2006 — and 39 of them were black?

My guess is, he would be disgusted and alarmed. He would wonder why so many of these well-paid athletes have so little respect for their profession, so little appreciation for the lives they have, so little regard for their place in the black community and their predecessors who made these riches possible?

Why?

Because he knows the price he paid — a price today's black athletes cannot possibly fathom — to create such opportunities for young black men.

• What would Jackie do if he saw so few black players in today's major leagues?

My guess is, he would shake his head and wonder what happened. He'd be thrilled with the success black players enjoy in the NFL and NBA. He'd take great pride in seeing Tiger Woods atop the golf world. But he'd be disappointed and dissatisfied that blacks composed less than 10 percent of major league baseball players, the lowest number in two decades.

Why do I think this?

Because his widow said so.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

Truth is, we can learn a lot from the Jackie Robinson story. He was not merely a great black American. He was a great American who did more in one day to advance the black cause in this country than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have done across the past 20 years — more than anyone since King.

That's why, if you have a few moments today, 60 years after he changed the face of baseball, you should honor Robinson's legacy by remembering what he did, what he stood for and why he was the most important athlete in our history.

What would Jackie do?

He'd do the right thing.

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Cuban ‘not on prowl’ for Dodgers, or any team Sosa’s skin undergoing color change Blyleven: Pitching to be had beyond Halladay Damon, Matsui and Pettitte all could return Yankees’ Jeter, Teixeira win Gold Gloves Scully to broadcast in 2010, then decide future Baseball GMs pass on expanding instant replay Martin, Herzog, Murtaugh and Mauch on Hall ballot Free agents Circling the Bases: Blogging on news, rumors, buzz Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: