The suspension of a Grand Junction middle school student has created a bit of controversy.

The 12-year-old boy is being punished for saying that a ruling against him during a playground game was "gay."

The district suspended him for two days but the boy's mother said her son was not referring to sexual preference and that the school overreacted.

"To be called in and be told that making a comment in reference to a judgment call by a child is sexual harassment, I think is ... taking it to the extreme. We have to be very careful what is against school policy," said the boy's mother, Susan Madison.

"When you look at the harassment laws, harassment is in the eye of beholder. I think that any kind of name calling and any kind abusive form is a form of harassment. And we're working very hard to eradicate and reduce the number of these kind of incidents," said West Middle School principal Jody Mimmack.

The suspension comes as the school board in Grand Junction is taking a closer look at its bullying policy. The policy does not currently include language relating to sexual orientation.