The general principles common to conflict theory are: (1) the primary unit of analysis is social structure; (2) conflict is endemic in social organizations; (3) persons in similar social conditions will organize to promote their group interests; (4) the powerful use their power to keep themselves in power; (5) inequities in wealth, power, and prestige plus the exploitation by the powerful toward the powerless lead to conflicts between them; (6) the understanding of society requires the understanding of the political economy; (7) the conditions of social organization, domination, and exploitation have alienating, repressive, and frustrating effects on individuals; and (8) human beings are the architects of social organization. These principles of conflict theory are applied to deviance in sport. Specifically, this paper defines deviance from the conflict perspective by using objective criteria. Next the structural roots of deviance in sport are examined by focusing on the structural conditions of massification and commodification.
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