America’s most famous assistant high school football coach is off to a rough start with the local referees.

On Sept. 3, during the first quarter of the season-opening game for Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, assistant coach Jon Gruden incurred a 15-yard penalty for chewing out officials and Chucky was so tormented by the call that he abandoned his teenage roster and left the field for the remainder of the game.

“Whether or not it was his celebrity, I don’t know, but the officials made the call,” Carrollwood Day School athletic director Frank Mabry said Wednesday. “I was right there myself. In all honesty, he was upset with the officials and he did receive a sideline penalty and a warning, but it was definitely overblown.

“He was not ejected. He left the sidelines on his own volition and watched from the stands. [Gruden] has been absolutely awesome with our students and accommodating with our coaches. It’s a shame that people were saying that he was ejected and making a big deal out of that. That’s not what happened. He chose to remove himself from the situation.”

Mabry said he will not file a complaint with the West Coast Officials Association, which employs the referees that worked that game. “I have the highest respect for the officials, and this is not that kind of situation,” he said.

Former high school football official George Robertson, of Tampa, was at the game cheering on his son who played for the opposing team, Cambridge Christian School.

Robertson said Chucky continued to berate officials while watching from the stands, calling them “Forrest Gump” and questioning calls.

Joe thinks it’s very weak that Chucky chose to leave the field in the first quarter.

Perhaps the officials had a quick trigger for Chucky, but why would he not just stop talking and be there for his players?

It was a great opportunity to teach the kids some sportmanship, rather than running away — like Forrest Gump loved to do.