Steroids and Youth Sports

Recently the Baseball Hall of Fame announced it will induct no one for the first time in more than a decade, a move many view as a statement against the use of steroids in professional sports. In addition, cyclist Lance Armstrong is now admitting to using performance enhancing drugs.

This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about the use of banned substances to gain a competitive edge and how professional athletes use of the drugs influence youth athletes. Andrea Wickerham of Drug Free Sport, the organization that does drug testing for the Illinois High School Association, joins host Craig Cohen to talk about the prevalence of steroid use in high school sports and what’s being done about it. Donald Hooton Jr. of the Taylor Hooton Foundation and Kurt Gibson of the Illinois High School Association also join the program.

Taylor Hooton was 17 when he committed suicide as a result of his anabolic steroid use. His father, Donald Hooton Sr., created the Taylor Hooton Foundation in 2004 after Taylor's death.