After the death of his autistic half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, in October 2013 in an incident which gained national headlines, Danny has determined to study law.
[2] In 2007, after starting quarterback Jordan Steffy was injured mid-season, he briefly participated in an open tryout for a reservist to provide more depth at the position.
[4] Danny Oquendo's half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, was an autistic 14-year-old boy who, in September 2013, began as a freshman at a special education school within the newly constructed Riverview School in Long Island City, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.
Danny left his job in Florida to help in the search and took a strong lead in urging attention on it over the next three months, until his brother's remains were found on the Queens bank of the East River in January 2014.
[8] Through contact with Gary Mayerson, an attorney who specializes in legal services for children with autism and whose firm had offered a monetary award for the search for Avonte, Danny was motivated to resume his university studies in the field of law, with a focus on special education law.
He was accepted by New York Law School in Manhattan, which offers a specialization in this field, and planned to begin his studies in Fall 2014.