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Altercation at Cape Girardeau SportsPlex Prompts New Safety Measures for Future Tournaments

The Cape Girardeau SportsPlex
Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation
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The Cape Girardeau SportsPlex

A basketball tournament at the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex was briefly halted Sunday afternoon after an altercation broke out between coaches from two visiting teams.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 2025, during the Reebok Basketball Series tournament. Both coaches were immediately removed, and as a precaution, all games were paused until they left the building.

Zachary Mares, tournament director for Reebok Basketball, said staff acted quickly to handle the situation.

"It was just an isolated incident on a court between two teams. We handled it very quickly," Mares said. "Our staff de-escalated it"

Facebook post from Reebok Basketball Tournament Series' Facebook Account discussing the altercation at the event.
Reebok Basketball Tournament Series
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Facebook post from Reebok Basketball Tournament Series' Facebook Account discussing the altercation at the event.

New Safety Measures on the Horizon

Following the incident, the Reebok Basketball Tournament Series is working with the City of Cape Girardeau to bring in stronger security measures at future tournaments, including armed security and metal detectors.

"We want to make sure we’re proactive with our measures," Mares said. "We’re working with the city to get armed security in there, and metal detectors."

Mares, who has overseen tournaments at the Sportsplex for nearly a decade, says that this is not a common occurrence at their tournaments.

"We’ve been running tournaments here for eight or nine years, and we’ve never had a big altercation," he said. "But there are bad apples, and bad things do happen sometimes."

In addition to increased security, Reebok Basketball is enforcing a stricter code of conduct to prevent future disruptions.

"If an individual starts acting out of character or there's profanity, we want to eject them before it even gets to any point," Mares said.

Arrest Made Following Threat

The situation escalated further when 32-year-old Mackenzie Ivy, of Charleston, MO, allegedly threatened to "shoot this place up."

According to court documents, Ivy left the building but returned shortly after with a gun. He was arrested and charged with first-degree making a terroristic threat, with his bond set at $50,000. Ivy is scheduled for a court appearance on February 6.

Despite the tense moments, Mares emphasized that the tournament continued without further problems.

Looking Ahead

Reebok Series has also banned the teams and coaches involved in the altercation from participating in future tournaments.

"We have to put a ban on both your teams and organizations because we want everyone to feel safe," Mares said. "There has to be consequences for actions."

Mares stressed that the organization’s top priority is ensuring a safe and secure environment for players, coaches, and families.

"We’re going to be even more proactive now," he said. "That's a top priority for us."

The Cape Girardeau SportsPlex is a 121,000 sq. ft., facility located along Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau at 2526 Jim Drury Way. The SportsPlex features two regulation indoor turf fields, and six high school regulation hardwood basketball courts which convert to 12 regulation volleyball courts. The facility also has full-service concessions with a multi-use space.

Alex Barton joined the staff of KRCU Public Radio in July 2024. Alex, from St. Louis, Missouri, is pursuing a degree in Multimedia Journalism with a minor in Integrated Marketing Communications at Southeast Missouri State University. He has written stories for the Southeast Arrow and worked on various freelance voice-acting projects.