The JRF is a national, not-for-profit organisation, which gives scholarships to minority youths for higher education, and preserves the legacy of Baseball Hall of Fame member, Jackie Robinson.

Nelson was recognised by JRF leadership ahead of yesterday’s Major League Baseball (MLB) game between Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, where the 13th annual Jackie Robinson Day was marked. 

The official received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from Yale Law School in Connecticut, and was able to attend the academic institutions with the financial support and mentorship provided by JRF’s scholarship programme.

"There is no better example of sport’s power to inspire positive change in society than Jackie Robinson," said Nelson.

"I have seen the power of sport in my own life through Robinson’s legacy that allowed me to pursue my education at two of the nation’s premier academic institutions.

"It is a great honour to thank the JRF scholarship programme as we celebrate Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium."

Nelson joined LA 2024 from the California Department of Justice where he served as general counsel and, prior to that, special assistant to attorney general Kamala Harris.

He has also worked as deputy chief of staff for the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division and as an appellate associate at law firm Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C.

"Robinson’s commitment to humanitarianism and equal opportunity have greatly inspired me in my own work, and continue to shape the way I approach my work on behalf of the City of Angels' bid to bring back the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States for the first time in 28 years," added Nelson.

"And at LA 2024, I'm proud to work to grow the Olympic Movement, which powerfully advances the ideals of excellence, friendship and unity in generations of athletes and sport fans alike."

MLB inaugurated Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, 2004 to commemorate Robinson’s legacy.

It has since been celebrated every April 15, the same day that Robinson made his historic MLB debut for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

He was the first African-American to play in the MLB in the modern era.

Each year since 2004, numerous ballparks around the country have celebrated Jackie Robinson Day.

JRF representatives at the Dodger Stadium included founder Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife, as well as vice-chair Sharon Robinson, President and chief executive Della Bretton Baeza, and director Earvin "Magic" Johnson, the basketball legend who is also an LA 2024 vice-chair.

LA faces competition from Budapest, Paris and Rome in its bid to win the hosting rights to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee is due to make a decision at its Session in Lima in 2017.