WNBA star Brittney Griner changed her mind about a speaking engagement on Monday at the 2025 Women Grow Leadership Summit after finding the message “Gay Baby Jail” in her hotel room.
The summit, held at National Harbor, Md., focuses on cannabis policy and industry, as reported by NBC News.
Gaylord National Resort staff alerted Prince George’s County Police Department of the incident. Police detectives determined that the phrase is a video game reference. A large convention also being held at the resort attracted anime and video game enthusiasts.
“Detectives are working to determine who placed the piece of tape, when it was done and the intention behind it. At this time, detectives have uncovered no link to or threat against the guest who located the tape,” police spokesperson said.
Griner, 34, made headlines in February 2022 after her arrest in Russia when airline officials found vape cannisters of cannabis oil in her luggage. Although Griner held authorization from an American doctor for the substance, she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
As on openly gay American woman who married her wife, Cherelle Watson, in 2019, her status put Griner at additional risk in a Russian penal colony. She was released and returned to the United States in December 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange arranged by President Joe Biden.
Griner was with the WNBA Phoenix Mercury since 2013 and, as a free agent in 2025, announced in late January she will play for the Atlanta Dream. She has earned three Olympic gold medals and was named the 2023 WNBA All-Star.
“I was able to find where I wanted to go. And honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family,” she told People Magazine.
In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, Women Grow CEO Chanda Macias said Griner “felt unsafe because of threatening objects and words left inside her hotel room. For her safety, she chose to return home.”
Macias said that guests and conference staff were assured of their safety, but the note was a joke left by a prior guest and not removed by cleaning staff before Griner’s arrival.
“Regardless of whether this was a targeted attack or an unfortunate coincidence, the entire Women Grow community and I wholeheartedly support Brittney’s decision and stand with her at this time,” Macias said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
