Kyle Singler, a former forward for the Detroit Pistons and the Oklahoma City Thunder, has posted a pair of videos to his Instagram account that have current and former NBA stars concerned for his well-being.
Singler, a native of Medford, Oregon, uploaded the clips on Tuesday, claiming he ‘fears for his life everyday’ after being ‘silenced’, ‘neglected’, ‘abused’ and even ‘held hostage’.
‘I need to make an announcement because I feel like my voice is getting silenced,’ he began. ‘Every day, s*** is being thrown my way. I’ve been mistreated and abused. Neglected. Made into a mental example. I fear for my life. Everyday.’
The concerning clips prompted former teammates and fellow stars to offer their support.
Kevin Love of the Miami Heat, a fellow Oregon native and an advocate for mental health in athletes, commented: ‘I love you Kyle. Hit me whenever. Please.’
Kyle Singler in the second of two concerning videos posted to his Instagram account Tuesday
Singler was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft
Love also took to X, formerly Twitter, saying, ‘To everyone who has spent time with Kyle Singler and whose lives he has touched – please shower him with the love and support he needs + deserves.
‘I would not be who I am today without him. I am forever indebted and love him. To the NBA family, Duke BB family, & South Medford community – let’s show up for one of our own.’
Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond – who played with Singler on the Detroit Pistons – wrote, ‘You aren’t alone brother! I’m here for you.’
Former NBA point guard Isaiah Thomas left two comments, saying, ‘We love you bro!!!’ and ‘Here for you bro! Always and forever.’
Singler first posted a video with him standing shirtless in an unfurnished room. ‘I need to make an announcement because I feel like my voice is getting silenced,’ he said.
‘Every day, s**t is being thrown my way. I’ve been mistreated and abused. Neglected. Made into a mental example. I fear for my life. Everyday.
‘And people in my community make me look… as if I’m gonna be someone that is gonna be a problem and make things difficult for people when I’m only trying to be helpful.’
Singler (12) guards Butler’s Gordon Hayward (20) in the 2010 NCAA National Championship
He continued, ‘I feel like I have a certain way about myself, and strength, and purpose that does not get valued or treated properly,’ only for the video to abruptly stop.
Hours later, Singler posted a second video. He was still shirtless, but this time he was in sunlight.
‘So like I was saying, I’ve been in this house for five years – and it’s a hole,’ he said. ‘My community, I’ve gone out to my community. I’ve tried to bring my family and friends into play to try to help me out, start a new career, begin a new life.
‘And everybody’s played me into a fool. Creating chaos, creating narratives, to again – help it be profitable for people. My life has not changed at all.’
The video continued, ‘I am being held hostage in a certain situation and position to again create a false narrative about someone and people in general. When all I’ve been wanting to do is create a business in nature to allow people to feel-‘ before the clip cut off again.
In his high school days, Singler was a widely heralded recruit out of Oregon when he signed a national letter of intent in 2006 to play basketball at Duke University.
He was a member of the Blue Devils’ 2010 National Championship winning team that beat Butler University 61-59. For his efforts, Singler was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Singler would later be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder – his last stop in his NBA career
After one final year in college in 2011, Singler was selected 33rd overall in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
He initially played in Spain with Lucentum Alicante and Real Madrid before joining Detroit in 2012.
Singler played with the Pistons for three seasons before being packaged to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-team deal involving eight players and three draft picks.
He remained in Oklahoma City after 2015, re-signing with the team. He was waived in 2018 and continued his playing career in Spain again before retiring due to ‘personal reasons’ in 2019.
Across his NBA career, Singler averaged 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game across 356 career games.
