WNBA star Brittney Griner pulled out of speaking engagement earlier this week after finding a piece of tape in her hotel room with the words “Gay Baby Jail” written on it.
The 34-year-old Olympian was set to speak at the Women Grow 2025 Leadership Summit, dedicated to cannabis policy and industry, in National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday when she found the note and left. The ordeal was first reported by TMZ.
Griner, who is gay, had been imprisoned in Russia after vape canisters with cannabis oil were found in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022. She pleaded guilty to drug charges at her trial in July 2022, but said she had no criminal intent. She was released the following December in a prisoner swap brokered by the Biden administration.
NBC News has reached out to representatives for Griner for comment.
The Prince George’s County Police Department said Gaylord National Resort staff alerted authorities about a piece of tape with writing on it found in a guest’s room.
Detectives said they learned the phrase “gay baby jail” is commonly used as a video game reference. Police noted that at the time the tape was discovered, a large convention was taking place at the resort that attracts a crowd interested in 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,” a police spokesperson said. “At this time, detectives have uncovered no link to or threat against the guest who located the tape.”
Anyone with information on the tape message is asked to contact police.
Women Grow CEO Chanda Macias told NBC News in a statement Wednesday: “Brittney Griner arrived to be with us but felt unsafe because of threatening objects and words left inside her hotel room. For her safety, she chose to return home.”
“The Gaylord assured us that the conference and its guests were safe; they have represented that the threat at issue was a meme joke left by a prior guest and unfortunately missed by cleaning staff,” Macias continued.
“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,” she said.
