Damon Dunn Damon Jerrel Dunn ( born March 15 , 1976 ) is an American politician , minister , and retired football player . Dunn was the Republican nominee for California Secretary of State in 2010 . Early life . Dunn was born in 1976 in Fort Worth , Texas to a 16 - year - old mother , Ramona Dunn . When Dunn was three years old his father , Texas Longhorns starting wide receiver , Mike Lockett , was killed in a car accident . Dunn grew up in a trailer on his grandparents ' farm . Dunn was an honor student in Sam Houston High School in Arlington , Texas and an All - State Texas football player . College . After high school Dunn attended Stanford University on a football scholarship after being recruited by Bill Walsh . Dunn also ran track at Stanford . At Stanford Dunn was coached by Tyrone Willingham and Dunn has said he viewed him as a father figure , having grown up without a male role model in his life . While at Stanford Dunn set numerous records and was awarded a NCAA Academic Scholarship , All - Pac - 10 Honors and Academic All - Pac - 10 Honors , and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Award . During his career at Stanford Dunn participated as a associate pastor in the Jerusalem Baptist Church , where he managed youth ministries . NFL career . Dunn graduated from Stanford in 1998 with a degree in public policy . He was not picked in the 1998 NFL Draft . The season after he graduated from Stanford , Dunn was on the practice squad of the National Football League team Jacksonville Jaguars . Dunn then played for the Cleveland Browns in 1999 . The next year , Dunn played in the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe , the New York Jets of the NFL , and the Browns in 2000 . In 2001 , Dunn played for the XFL team Los Angeles Xtreme ; the XFL folded after that season . Dunn joined Dallas Cowboys training camp before the 2001 NFL season . He left the NFL after being injured there . Other ventures . After retiring from the NFL , Dunn co - founded a successful real estate company doing work across the country . Secretary of State candidacy . In 2009 , Dunn announced that he would run for California Secretary of State as a Republican , challenging incumbent Democrat Debra Bowen . Additionally , the " Los Angeles Sentinel " quoted Dunn : " There are a lot of African Americans that are conservative fiscally and socially as well , but we don ' t have the welcoming face in the Republican Party . " In the May 2009 special election , Dunn voted for the first time ; he voted against all of the budget propositions 1A through 1E . While playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars , Dunn registered to vote as a Democrat in 1999 ; that registration expired in 2005 . The " San Francisco Chronicle " endorsed Dunn for the June 2010 primary . Ronnie Lott , a Hall of Fame NFL player , endorsed Dunn the following month . In the election , which took place on November 2 , 2010 , Bowen won with 53 . 1 % of the vote ; Dunn finished with 38 . 6 % ; Dunn won his home county of Orange , with 54 . 1 % of the vote . Personal life . While in the NFL , Dunn worked with the Make - a - Wish Foundation visiting kids with terminal diseases . Dunn started the Fighting Giants Ministry that ministers to children with life changing injuries . Dunn has also worked with St . Augustine Soup Kitchen , the Cops - N - Kids program and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation . Dunn served as president of his local Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter and has spoken nationally at FCA events . Dunn is also a licensed Baptist minister and a member of Antioch Church of Long Beach . He lives in Long Beach , California .