In every gym and athletic practice in the United States there are secrets. These secrets are kept by public gyms, health clubs, and even high school sports. This secret is killing our youth and destroying sportsmanship not only in the United States, but internationally as well. What I am referring to is the use of anabolic steroids. This epidemic is spreading across our country like wildfire. It goes unnoticed and misunderstood. Even our government has not found the money, manpower or time to deal with this killer. It can be purchased wherever pleasure or illicit drugs can be found. The people who deal these drugs are usually the people teenagers look up to. The drug dealers are the kids, the teachers, the coaches and even their parents. It seems to me that if a parent prescribes steroids to their children, they are not living in reality. They are probably living the life they never had through their children. When children don't live up to parents' expectations, parents push medications to make the children the best they can be, even if it kills them. It's a shame to see parents living their dreams through their children and killing them in the process. Along with parents and coaches, another major contributor to steroid use among adolescents are everyday sports heroes. If a professional sports figure is caught with any drug, he or she should be banned from all competitions and be forced to teach or attend classes that show the effects of the drug on the body and mind. At the moment it seems that all professionals caught using and abusing are given a slap on the wrist and a pathetic fine and then sent away. They reap the benefits of being a sports figure and yet give young Americans the impression that drugs are good. Simply put, they are killing our youth. They lead them to believe that drug abuse is ok and that whatever enhances your abilities should be used or taken. What the professionals don't tell you is what they experience off the field. The public does not see all the suffering and side effects that the user experiences outside the playing field. The public simply sees athletes playing at incredibly high levels and getting paid a lot of money for their so-called talent.