Dream’s Brittney Griner leaves speaking engagement after bizarre note found on hotel room door

Atlanta Dream star Brittney Griner decided to pull out of a speaking engagement in Maryland this week after a bizarre note was found on her hotel room door, the event’s organizer confirmed to NBC News on 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,” Women Grow CEO Chanda Macias said in a statement. “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. 

“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.”

Griner was scheduled to speak at the Women Grow 2025 Leadership Summit, which ran from Feb. 17-18, alongside former NFL star Ricky Williams. Women Grow is the “leading organization dedicated to fostering female leadership in the cannabis industry.” 

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However, upon finding a piece of tape with the words “gay baby jail” on her hotel door, Griner decided to go home. The phrase is commonly used in the video game community, and the Gaylord National Resort, where Griner was staying, recently hosted the Music and Gaming Fest from Jan. 23-26. 

“Detectives are working to determine who placed the piece of tape, when it was done and the intention behind it,” a Prince George’s County Police Department spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, detectives have uncovered no link to or threat against the guest who located the tape.”

Griner, who is gay, spent nearly 300 days in Russian custody in 2022 after cannabis-derived oil cartridges were found in her luggage when she arrived in the country to play for a team in the Russian Premier League during the WNBA offseason. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, but was freed via a prisoner exchange in December 2022. 

Since then, Griner has resumed her WNBA career and was named an All-Star in both 2023 and 2024 upon her return. This offseason, she decided to leave the Phoenix Mercury, who selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, and signed with the Dream in free agency.