Atlanta Dream star and WNBA icon Brittney Griner was invited as a special guest at this year’s Women Grow Leadership Summit, a gathering of women in the cannabis industry held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington, D.C., in February.

Everything did not go according to plan.

The Olympic gold medalist was expected to speak about her experiences with drug criminalization after she was detained in Russia for nearly a year on marijuana “smuggling” charges. However, she withdrew from the conference altogether after she discovered “threatening objects and words” in her hotel room, as CBS affiliate WUSA reported: specifically, a piece of grey duct tape with the words “Gay Baby Jail” stuck to the wall.

“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 told Marijuana Moment at the time.

She added, “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.”

The phrase “gay baby jail” is an internet meme and a common video game phrase that means forward progress in the game is impossible unless it’s restarted. It is also considered an “affectionate pejorative used to punish fictional characters.”

Fast-forward to May 2025, and we are now seeing police body cam footage showing officers investigating the situation, per TMZ.

An employee of the hotel told the cops the message was taped to a door. He added that Griner found it. Once inside the room, the cops located the “Gay Baby Jail” message.

Brittney Griner Facing Backlash Over Video of Her On The Bench

Brittney Griner (Photo By Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
Britney Griner is embroiled in a controversy regarding whether she called Caitlin Clark a “f–king white girl” last week.

Moments after fouling out, Griner seemingly said “trash” before social media assumed the rest.

There are those who believe Griner instead said, “Wack call.”

Griner has averaged 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for 3-2 Dream.