Brittney Griner Pulls Out of Speaking Engagement Over ‘Gay Baby Jail’ Note
The WNBA star found an ominous note near her hotel room—and took it as a threat.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
WNBA star Brittney Griner pulled out of a speaking engagement after finding a three-word note taped near the entryway of her hotel room, according to a report. It read, “Gay Baby Jail.” Griner, who is gay, interpreted the note as a threat and promptly departed the Maryland hotel and convention center where she was staying, TMZ reported. She had been scheduled to address women in the cannabis industry at the Women Grow Leadership Summit on Monday. It would have been one of her first public speaking engagements since being freed from imprisonment in Russia—where she was held for possessing marijuana—in Dec. 2022. However, after investigating, local police believe the note was not a threat—or even targeted at Griner. Police told TMZ they learned that “gay baby jail” is a “video game reference,” and noted that a video game and anime convention was taking place at the hotel. “At this time, detectives have uncovered no link to or threat against the guest who located the tape,” the police told TMZ. In online slang, the term “gay baby jail” is used to describe situations where a character in a video game is unable to move.
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